


I'll Always Find You

by Xilianr



Series: Can't Get Away From You [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Horror, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Light Angst, Mild Smut, Nightmares, Titans, Yandere Eren Yeager, Yandere Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-11-06 15:47:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 68,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11039304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xilianr/pseuds/Xilianr
Summary: You had an opportunity to move and you took it. You didn't really know anyone in the area but you weren't worried, you needed a change. You weren't planning on having a helpful neighbor or to make such unique friends but planning never was your strong suit.





	1. One Rainy Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first chaptered post and the first part of a longer story I hope to put out. The fluff is fluffy and the angst light, until it's not anymore. Not positive I'll be making it into a series instead of one long run, but that is the current intent. Enjoy the journey.

You looked out the window of your new basement apartment and felt your heart ache with the truth that only a cold rainy day could bring: being a pedestrian sucked. You really hated that you didn’t own a car at times like this. What’s more you didn’t even have a license so a car wouldn’t really have helped. Not the most unusual of issues, Jessica Fletcher out of ‘Murder, She Wrote’ never learned to dive. That seemed a reasonable role model to scapegoat out for your complicated life choice just now. Looking at the wet world outside you dwelled on the annoying fact that even with an umbrella the trip to the market was undoubtably going to have a “looking half drown” phase. You groaned at the cyclist side of your psyche, for a moment wishing you had been like everyone else and gotten a license and a car. The moment passed and you moved on to planning around the weather.

Freshly moved to the new town you had no friends to really reach out to yet, the short list of acquaintances being out of town still for the holidays just passed. Gathering all your stamina for the annoying, if not a little exciting, new mission to go out and get coffee, milk, fresh veggies and maybe some bread you slipped on your weather ready slicker and boots. 

“Onward!” You jokingly told yourself, charging out the door of your new flat, reusable bags hidden under the slicker to keep dry. 

After walking three blocks you realized that the market you were sure was up the street was in fact up the street in the exact opposite direction you had gone in. Wonderful. Muttering a string of profanities softly under your breath made you feel a little better, even if it did nothing to reduce the time your crumby navigation skills had tacked on. 

Walking back past your own flat, you smirked at the front door, pausing to debate if maybe a quick warm cup of tea wasn’t in order to stoke the furnace and chase away some of the cold. Pressing forward before momentum could be lost won out over warmth and off down the street in the correct direction you powered on. 

“Oi, idiot!”

Not looking around for shouts like that was a reflex from years of walking around in your old home town, Sina. Instead you kept moving, posture unchanged from the call. You were not interested in hearing how your new neighbors thought you needed a car to thrive. Clicking the volume on your music a hair higher you bopped your head a little to the tune. That was until a hand grabbed your shoulder and you made a sound somewhere between an eep, an aah, and a whatthefuck. 

Before you stood a shorter man in a nice business suit and long heavy coat, head dripping with water. The look on his face was one of bored annoyance and didn’t really match the action of abandoning his running car, door open, to run and grab his neighbor in pouring rain. 

“You. You’re the brat next door, that just moved in, right?” He half shouted to be heard.

Pulling out one earbud, headset fully hidden from view by your hood, you tilted your umbrella so that it covered his now inundated head.

“Woah, you’re soaked! Sorry, I had my headset in so I didn’t hear you coming up behind me. Hope you weren’t trying to talk to me.” You said, guilt at ignoring his call making a knot in your stomach. 

“Tch, it’s just water, not like I’ll melt.” 

His gruff tone left the small smart-ass voice in your head whispering ‘You sure? You seem pretty salty.’ To which you told your brain to hush and play nice. 

“Look, I was just on my way out to run some errands and if you didn’t mind that I need to hit the market and the post office I could give you a ride where ever you’re going.” Once again the words didn’t match the mostly annoyed, maybe even pissed off look and tone.  

“I am just on my way to the market also, so if you don’t mind me tagging along that would be great! You coming back here after?”

A soft click of his tongue was mostly muffled by the rainfall as he turned to nod toward the place next door to yours. “Are you stupid? That’s where I live, so yeah, back here to put away my groceries.”

‘A real prince charming this one.’ Your thought dripped with sarcasm. Well, maybe he was a little, considering that he did just run over to you to offer to help you out, asshole vocabulary he used to do so, aside. 

“Yeah, please, that would be wonderful to get a ride to and from. I don’t drive so the weather was really putting my dinner plans to the test. Thanks for offering.” You gave your best warming smile, hoping to convey you were genuinely ecstatic to get the ride.

“Hm. Right, hurry up, its too damn wet to keep talking out here.” With that he was already turned and making quick time to the car. How could a guy barely over 5 feet move so damn fast?

As you slid into the car you saw him pull a towel from the back seat and start to dry his hair, reducing his ‘fresh from a swim’ look to ‘just had a shower’. Now in the safe dryness of a vehicle you were able to take in the man behind the wheel. Black hair done in an undercut was making his porcelain light skin and steel grey eyes even sharper from the contrast. Being in the warmth of the car did nothing to warm his expression though. He seemed to be one of those people that just always looked half way between too bored to fake interest and too grumpy to care. An awkward car ride was bound to be your immediate future but thankfully you had one earbud still in, giving you freedom from the silence without forcing him to hear your music.

“I’m gonna drop off a parcel first then we will come back by the grocery.”

“Oh, okay, that sounds best. I’m not in any rush.” you answer back, trying for chipper so he might lighten up a bit. 

“Just didn’t want you freaking out as we drive past. All I need is for you to try and attack me for ‘trying to kidnap you’ when I am actually just sending my friend some supplies.” A small smirk was on his lips, so faint you hardly noticed it. This guy was starting to look totally socially inept more and more and total asshole less and less. Was he just normally crass and unapproachable like this? That would explain why a guy this attractive and considerate of others wasn’t sporting a wedding ring. He just immediately put off everyone who ever talked to him. 

The rest of the drive to the post office was silent, and he left his keys in the ignition as he dashed in to leave a box at the outgoing drop off. Once he slid back in the car he gave you a slight sideways glance, almost like verifying you weren’t needing to say something but not wanting to directly ask. You gave a big smile and a subtle nod in an attempt to convey your being ready to go. 

Your driver sighed, tension leaving his shoulders ever so slightly as he started on the trek to the grocery you had passed once already. This guy might as well have had awkward tattooed across his forehead. You were sure he was trying to work out how to ask something, or say something. What it could be was beyond you though.

“Oh, do you have a cell phone? Want my number so you can call me if you get finished and want me to hurry up?” you offered playfully, a good natured grin encouraging him to relax more. Offering to take a new neighbor to the store would be kind of stressful for most people, and this guy seemed high strung in general.

“Sure, but it’s in my inner coat pocket so lets wait until I park for you to give it to me. Let me give you mine now. The names Levi. Levi Ackerman.” He offered his name in such a strange tone, it was as if he had been struggling to figure out how to offer it up. Next he rattled off his number, you read it back to be sure you got it right. You tapped his name into your phone and when he stopped at a signal you snapped a quick picture to add to the contact. He turned his head slowly to look at you, face an unreadable mask. The light changed and he once again faced forward, full attention needed for the wet road and low visibility from the downpour. You couldn’t be sure but you thought you saw the smallest smirk tug at his lips. This triggered your own smirk pulling at your lips, the silence seeming to make the pair of you giddy and awkward dorks.

Levi grabbed a space near the doors and after shuffling a few items around to get the desired bags from the back seat he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Alright go ahead.” And now it was your turn to rattle off your number, still with your old 702 Sina area code. He read back the correct number and with your nod of confirmation he gave a contented hum.

“Ok brat, now I don’t want to be here all damn day so go in, get your shit, and ring me. No fucking around in the tabloid section or whatever.”

“Do I really look like I read the gossip columns? Not all my books have pictures in them, you know! I can even read at a college level!” You playfully poked his shoulder, taking his childish name calling as invitation to be a bit of a kid yourself.

“Tch, just don’t dottle.” With a roll of his eyes he climbed out of the car and looked over his shoulder to be sure you were right behind. You climbed out and rushed around to take a spot next to him, umbrella once again tipped to try and keep the one without a hood drier. 

You both went your separate ways once through the doors, mad dash to get food and get out underway. Your basket got filled quickly enough with all your needed items, large jug of milk taken over the smaller offerings since you had the pleasure of a ride today. You searched the lines and upon finding the one that looked shortest you popped to the end and eagerly emptied your basket onto the belt to wait. 

And wait.

Then waited some more as the milk stayed a totally stationary pillar against the back drop of gums. The customer ahead of you stood looking upset to the point of fuming and a teen behind the register seemed totally cowed with beads of sweat on his brow, but neither said or did anything. The tension was palpable.

A vibration startled you and you looked at your phone.

-Done. You almost ready or should I get a book?-

Maybe he’s a socially inept asshole? Why limit him to an either/or, the man seemed willing enough to multitask. 

-Almost done. I seem to have picked the one line that is at a stand still.-

After another minute you began to get annoyed that there was still no motion being made to change the absence of things being rung up. Looking at the name tag of the tall and nervous kid behind the register you tried to get a feel for wether or not you should jump ship for a different line or not.

“Hey there Bertolt- uh, Bert! Hi there. Um how long do you think this is gonna be? I mean should I get my stuff to a different line?” The death glare from the woman ahead of you brought the opposite reaction of what she expected as you calmly looked her in the eye and said, “Look I have a life too, and instead of wasting it right here watching you try to explode this poor brat with your mind I can just go to the next line over and leave some time before the new year.” Well it had only been one car trip and already you were seeing an influence to your vocabulary from your new friend. Before the woman could unleash whatever frustration she was feeling on the target you just painted on your forehead, a sharp commanding tone turned all your heads.

“Are you shitting me? You’re seriously still in line? Give me your damn groceries, the line over here is actually moving. This is stupid.” The growling tone and glare of brewing storm behind his grey eyes had the whole line help get your food into a basket and you to the head of the next line over. At this point you figured you could go one of two ways with it. Option one: tell Levi off for making a scene and embarrassing the poor kid that was just trying to do his job. That would be pretty damn awful to do especially since you were making him wait on you after he had gone out of his way to help you today. But option two seemed a better idea.

“Thanks Bert. Hang in there, you can only do your best, the rest is up to your manager to fix.” You give him a big smile and wave as you step over to pay for your groceries. Looking at the new checker’s name badge you tried to salvage her mood without throwing blame around like some baboon throwing shit. “Sorry about that, Mikasa. He is just having one of those days. Don’t take it personally.” You offered up your warmest smile. The young woman looked up at you with a familiar blank expression and emotionless grey eyes. Maybe they were distantly related?

Taking your bagged goods and receipt you started for the door. Levi was snarling up at a giant of a guy with shaggy dirty-blonde hair. The posture of the two reminded you of one time when you saw a month old kitten try and take out a full grown german shepherd. The kitten failed, obviously, and the dog wandered off confused as to what had just happened. This threatened to have a similar if not as humorously adorable ending. Walking over, you gently tugged on Levi’s sleeve to get his attention. Whatever he was about to say died on his lips as he looked at you. You had a pleasant smile and seemed totally at peace with the situation, not annoyed at his outburst or at the time wasted waiting in a line that should have been closed off. 

“Sorry miss, we will do better about having our staff inform guests of delays in ringing them out.” The manager who’s name tag identified as Mike stated.

“Oh, don’t worry about me. Poor Bert there is taking a real mauling though. I think the guy might liquify, he is sweating so hard. I didn’t mind waiting if it was just going to be a couple minutes but I sure didn’t want to make my friend wait an hour over this. We should be going now, we’ve been spending enough of the day in this foul weather.”

“Thank you for being so understanding.” Mike said while looking at Levi, nearly daring him to say something after that.

“No worries, you try to stay dry, Mike.” You waved over your shoulder and gave a second soft tug on Levi to get him to break eye contact with the beast of a Manager.

You climbed into the car after setting your haul in the back seat. Levi climbed in shortly after, a look of some kind weighing in his eyes, you were pretty sure. The guy sure was hard to read, but you were hoping you were getting the hang of it. His eyes held all his emotions, his face was a just an empty mask.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that.” Levi was sharply focused straight ahead despite still being parked. Turning on the heat, Levi waited for the windshield to clear from the slight fogging.

Feeling the tension you decided to give your new friend the benefit of the doubt and instead of taking the bait to scold him for his temper you put the other side of the truth of his actions in the spot light. Hoping to chase off his guilt you chuckle softly earning a slightly startled look from Levi. “You shouldn’t be sorry, they had it coming. Eventually. Especially for leaving that terrified teen to handle that self centered bitch. A train wreak waiting to happen. Thanks for that. I’m glad you spoke up for me. I’m too easy going sometimes. They could have had a much worse situation in a matter of moments if you hadn’t stepped in then. Crass as you are, you directed your wrath at the people to blame, not the hapless clerks that couldn’t have done anything beyond telling people sorry and they don’t know how long of a wait it will be. You saved me yet again today. Sorry I made you wait so long, Levi.” You kept your gaze out the window for most of your speech, feeling a little silly putting such effort into being so empathetic with someone you had just met.

Still parked Levi had been watching you speak the whole way through, his head now slightly turned to the side. Almost like he was trying to see if a different angle would let him see what you were seeing to make the world not look like shit piled on shit. Little did he know you knew the world was mostly shit piled on shit and sculpted into something that was then sold off at an exorbitant price. You just looked hard for the good bits, the silver linings, like the chance to make a new friend on an otherwise stormy day. And more to the point you were a bit of an awkward and shy person, definitely a total introvert, and that meant you valued anyone willing to assert effort into being in your world. Even the ones that failed horribly at social graces.

“Tch, just pick a line that is actually moving next time.” You looked over to give him a smile only to once again be looking at his profile. This time however you were quiet certain you saw the faintest dusting of pink on his cheek. 

The ride was once again silent, but at this point the silence was comfortable between you. A simple foundation having been lain out that stated both your intentions clearly. Levi was going to be blunt, curse a lot, and be crass to everyone he talked to because he lacked any skill at not sounding like a dick. You were fine with forwardness, couldn’t be bothered to care about swearing, and weren’t going to take it personally that he was so harsh. 

Levi pulled up to your place and let you out at the closest point to your personal entrance on the side of the house, giving you the shortest possible dash to get out of the weather.

“Oi, get your door key in your hand now. Don’t want to stand on those steps any longer than you need to in this piss.”

“Yeah, good idea! Thanks Levi, for the ride and everything. It’s been nice meeting you!” You beam at him.

“Yeah yeah, hurry up and get inside, brat. My ice cream is melting.” It had only been a brief day out but you were really sure you were catching the little tells about his mood. A slight brightness in his eyes had you hoping Levi was at least a little pleased to have helped you out today.

Getting inside and taking off the layers protecting you from the cold and wet, you tap on your phone to end your music still playing through the abandoned earbuds. You saw that you missed a text from Levi, most likely because he was shouting at you.

-Which line are you in? Still waiting?-

That was the exact moment it hit you. You never once told him your name. You smacked your palm to your forehead with such force you half expected to get a text from Levi asking what the loud thud was. Total idiot. Here you were thinking the whole time about how awkward he was and you didn’t have the sense to tell him your name?

-Hey Levi, thanks for letting your weird new neighbor go on your errands with you. I should have said sooner, my name is (Y/N). Thanks again!-

Seconds later a vibration alerted you to a new message.

-I was happy to have the company. Next time I go shopping I’ll drop you a text, see if you’d like to go. Keep warm, and dry your hair (F/N), you forgot to put up your hood up on the way in. Can’t have you catching cold.-

You smile happily at your phone. Today might have been dumping down rain and chilling to the bone outside, but you felt truly warmed through.


	2. Second Outings

Seven days later you got a text from Levi inviting you to go to the market once again. You swore softly under your breath as you were working a double and couldn’t join him. As much as you could guess from a text reply, Levi wasn’t bothered. Offer of maybe next time on your phone screen giving you hope for another offer.

A second week passed by and another texted offer from Levi had to be turned down because of work. You hated that there was this guy making a real effort to be helpful and you weren’t able to accept any of it. 

Through a small texted conversation you found out that Levi was a creature of habit and that his market runs normally happened on the same day every week. Talking to your new boss you tried to see if you couldn’t start getting Wednesdays off, or at least have it so you were available to make the market run by letting you off early or start late. It was a real luxury to get a ride to the store and you didn’t want to just let this potentially wonderful solution slip by. Once you got a bike you wouldn’t need Levi to drive you, but for now you were a little further than you wanted to walk and a little too strapped for cash to afford a new bike. Levi was nearly a knight in shining armor. A crass, even abrasive knight, but shining armor to be sure. 

At first your boss was just an unreasonable grump about the request, stating that you had been hired with a completely open schedule and that he didn’t want to have to shuffle anyone around just to accommodate your whim for a schedule change. You bit your tongue about how as a part-timer he was going to have to deal with you getting a second job to schedule around soon. You decided to let him have a day or two to really think about how you were asking a fairly reasonable thing of the job that wasn’t really giving you enough to pay the bills. You weren’t going to quit over it, but you knew if you found a different gig you weren’t going to try and stay either. 

A few days later your boss was looking rather haggard and had dark circles under his eyes. The busy weekend had been compounded with a bunch of people calling off and you had happily worked shift after shift to keep the store running smooth. You hoped after seeing how hard you were willing to work and what a valuable employee you were he would reconsider your request for Wednesdays to be consistently freed up in time to hit the market with Levi this week.

When your boss saw you come into the office he seemed to recoil slightly, seeming to have been startled. He burst out that he was giving you Wednesdays off if you still wanted them, especially if you were willing to work weekends without complaint. He was also thinking about giving you a full time spot. This all sounded great but as the low man you were a little surprised by the sudden change of mind over something so luck based as your not getting deathly sick with everyone else.

He didn’t say much about it. He even seemed uncomfortable having you question it. His eyes were a little too wide. It looked like fear, but what could he have been afraid of? You? You hadn’t done or said anything that would constitute fear. You had a dark sense of humor, fine, but you’d never said anything threatening, even in jest. Taking his non answer as the best you would get you exited his office with a thank you and a promise to do your best to earn the trust he was placing in you. As you left you could have sworn you heard him mutter something about maybe now being able to get some dreamless sleep. How the two things could correlate was beyond you, poor guy probably just needed a day off.

Freeing up the day made the next texted offer one you could finally accept. A plan of meeting at the car at two-thirty was formed and you grabbed up all you would need for your trip out. 

The sky was was grey and the wind brisk but it was unlikely the clouds would burst. You waited on the stoop in a warm coat, with a hat pulled low on your head to keep the warmth in. Your headset was once again carrying the tune of one of the playlists you had going near constantly. It wasn’t that you couldn’t stand silence, on the contrary,  if you had a good kind of quiet you could even relish it. No, you just loved sound. Music was an easy go to but you would also just play tracks of the sound of rain falling or waves crashing. The background noise of the tv being on or a movie playing on an endless loop was also a common occurrence for you. 

As Levi stepped out of his place and started down his driveway you stood and gave a wave of greeting. 

“Hey Levi! Thanks for inviting me again. Once I get a bike you won’t have to tote me around anymore, but for now it’s just about the most wonderful thing ever.” You said once you were within ear shot. The grin you sported was probably a bit goofy looking, too bright for the second time you’d ever been face to face with him, and yet you couldn’t help it.

“No worries brat. I am going regardless of you, so it’s fine for you to tag along. I’ll need to mail something again but it won’t take long. You don’t mind?” His neutral tone and expression didn’t make him seem very happy to see you, but the slight brightness to his eyes told you he was.

“Not at all! You’re the one doing me the favor, remember?” You still had a big smile on your face. You remembered how stoic and harsh he had seemed the last time and now he seemed a bit more at ease. Still awkward and grumpy but there was less tension in his shoulders, of that you were very sure.

Levi walked to the passenger side with you, unlocking the door for you before walking around to the driver side. The trip was once again quiet and you smiled happily with one earbud still in. The playlist you were listening to now was nothing special, just the same one you would listen to while walking to work. You had picked mostly upbeat and catchy songs for the list to help bolster your mood on the way in. Levi would keep glancing over at you when stopped at a light but mostly seemed to want to just keep himself to himself. 

Levi pulled into the lot for the post office and once again left the car running for you as he dashed in and dropped off a similar looking box in the outgoing take up. As he walked back to the car he smirked as you unconsciously drummed your fingers on his dashboard in time to your music. Climbing in he casually reached over and pulled the earbud that you had loose on your shoulder closest to him and tucked in in his ear. Your breath caught in your throat. The song currently playing was a favorite of yours off the newest Bastille album. You hoped he didn’t hate it you realized, for some reason his opinion actually mattered to you. This was odd because normally you just enjoyed what you enjoyed and couldn’t be bothered if anyone else liked it. 

“Hm. I’m glad I’m not the only one still addicted to this album. When I first heard this song I knew it was my favorite off the whole damn thing. Not that the other tracks were shit or anything, I’m into the whole record. Hadn’t even finished listening to the other tracks when I pegged this one as the song I just wouldn’t stop listening to.” Levi was now letting his own fingers drum on the wheel a second. When the track ended he placed the earbud around the back of your neck, as you normally did, and started on the drive for the market. Levi’s admiration for the track you loved was a warm comfort in your heart.

“I have to agree. I feel a little silly admitting it out loud but I actually teared up the first time I heard it. ‘There’s an English man up in space these days’? It hit such a special nerve. I still get misty thinking about his death. This year has been a crap year of wonderful people dying.” You gave a small moment to the lost, it was such a sad year.

“Ugh, don’t even get me started on the number of brilliant individuals we lost, not just in music either. Although I have to admit that one hit me the hardest too. This one brat I work with, Eren, had never heard of Ziggy Stardust before I forced him to listen to it. Best part of being the supervisor is I get to select the ambient music playing in my section. I swear all of my department except for me and Eld are brats. I had to make this other kid, Petra, a mixtape of songs that are 80’s goth. Tch, I still need to make her a punk one. Shit, I forgot all about that.”

“Did she look at you like a crazy person for calling it a mixtape?” You snickered, knowing you had been on the receiving end of said look for that very offense. 

“Oh, fuck yes. She just looked at me like I had started speaking in tongues. Damn 19 year olds. She is seeing this annoying brat in our office and he had to come ask me what a mixtape was, she was too embarrassed and he didn’t know either. Oluo, also 19, idiots, the lot of them.” One of his hands had left its hold of the wheel to gesture to the heavens. Each frustration was punctuated with an opening of the hand in a seemingly unconscious act of erupting at the stupidity. You couldn’t help but laugh.

“Levi, how old are you that you can even talk like this? What 25? I’ll bet you aren’t even a whole decade older than those ‘brats’.”

“Tch, shut up, I’m 15 years older than those brats. 34 years of putting up with this shit called life.”

“34? Really? Bullshit. There is no way you are older than me.”

“I am definitely older than you brat. I can tell.” There was a smugness to him there that made you sure you would be hearing about what a young brat you were for the rest of eternity. Levi parked, grabbed bags from the back and hopped out of the car with such speed you never had a chance to shoot off a comeback. Just like last time he waited for you to catch up to him before heading for the door. 

“Do I need to tell you to not pick…”

“Don’t you fucking dare jinx me, Levi. I swear I will find a way to punish you for it.” You growled and gave him your best mock glare. You had been hoping for feigned intimidation, but the wry smirk on his face was far better.

“Just don’t dally, or I’m demanding a new book for while I wait the next time I bring you.” He said in a gruff tone before splitting off to fill his cart with the items on a list he pulled from his inner pocket.

This trip was notably less bumpy and you smiled happily at Bert as he rang you up lickety-split this time. The guy was actually really fast when he didn’t have an irate woman stalling up his line. Levi still managed to find a way to get more in less time but he hadn’t even taken out his phone yet when you caught up to him. 

The trip home was peacefully silent again, one earbud in the ear further from Levi, incase he said something to you. Levi once again pulled up the drive to get you closer to your door. You smiled happily at the sight of the place that was swiftly starting to feel like home.

“See you next week, brat?” Levi was watching you closely as you got out your keys and collected you bags.

“If you are going, yes please. My boss finally got the stick out of his butt about letting me have a specific day off. Like he would miss having me on the slowest day of the week.”

“Not every boss can seem as approachable as me, thats for sure.” You meet his blank face with one of your own until he lets out a huff. “Fine I scare them to the point that I have been told they worry I will stomp them bloody if they ask for vacation days. But I’ve never done it. Yet. I did threaten Eren this one time but he could take it. And he was willing to take the time after the completion of the nightmare of a project we were on. Hey, stop loitering and get in there, you are thawing my frozen waffles.” The grumpy and mildly bored expression on his face barely hid the brightness you could see in his interacting with you.

“Thanks Levi. See you next Wednesday!” You waved your hand holding the keys, making a jaunty jingle.

“Looking forward to seeing you then, (F/N).” 

You vanished behind your door and smiled at the joy of finding a friend that you connected with so easily. You both seemed to know you were awkward and forgave each other for it, maybe even kind of enjoyed each other’s uniqueness from it. This was going to be a great choice moving here, you could already tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song mentioned here is Lethargy by Bastille off of the Wild World album.


	3. The Day Levi Was an Elf

You struggle to get your head low enough to see under the bush next to your neighbor’s home. The soft scurrying sound of delicate paws let you know you almost had her. As the inky shadow slipped past your reaching hand a mumbled curse escaped you. “Damnit Robbin get your furry face back here!”

Pushing back you felt branches tugging at your hair, forcing you to dip lower to try and avoid their getting tangled only to rub the damp soil all over your white shirt. “Are you serious Universe!?” Your gripe was loud and angrily directed towards the heavens and the unseen forces that had decided to help thoroughly dirty your last clean shirt. You had loads of laundry going but the shirts were all currently enjoying the wash cycle and were too wet to wear.

“You know brat, if you want to break into my place, might I recommend using the windows in the back? They are a bit larger and don’t have shrubs in front of them.” The dry monotone of your neighbor startled you. Standing as swiftly as you could manage you wished you could just go hide back in your flat. This was not the state you wanted to be in when seeing, in what you had learned over the last two months, was your constantly immaculately groomed neighbor.

“Hey Levi. You didn’t happen to see which way a black cat dashed just a moment ago?”

Levi’s eyes drifted to his roof and a small nod directed your attention to a pair of glowing green eyes set in the dark face of your escape artist cat. How she had even managed to get up there was beyond you. You gave a frustrated huff at what was sure to be an annoying war of coaxing the animal from her new perch. “I hate you, you tiny little beast. Please just come down? Please?”

In what seemed an answer the tiny pest walked a few steps further up the roof only to turn and watch you with only two tiny ears and pair of chateaus gems visible. “Argh!” You roared up at the small nuisance as you realized your day off was most likely to now be spent chasing this cat around the neighborhood. 

“Could I be of some help?” The new voice grabbed you attention making you and Levi both look to the young man approaching. 

“What are you doing at my house Jaeger?” Levi looked unsurprised by the new arrival despite his words.

“Sorry boss, but Oluo said you were headed home for those reports and asked if I’d go help weed through them to get the ones we need. Save you the trouble of going through it all yourself?” The bright emerald eyes of the brunette were locked on you as he spoke to his superior. For a moment the molten flecks of gold in his eyes were caught by the sun and you were stunned to see his eyes rival the magical green eyes peering down from the roof top. 

“Tch, idiots. I was just gonna bring the whole lot. Why risk leaving one we need? Hey brat, you need a ladder or something to get that?” Looking at Levi with surprise at his rude addressing of your pet, you bit your tongue as you noticed his clenched jaw and lethal glare at the new arrival. Levi was a grumpy guy, you knew that much but seeing him interact with his employee you realized he was actually normally on his best behavior for you. 

“Yeah Levi that would be a big help. She got out while I was taking out the composting and seems to fancy your yard. Sorry.” You felt sheepish under the gaze of the new stranger who was openly staring at you.

“Oh, the fur ball is yours?” Levi was looking at you now, one eyebrow quirked up like the idea of you owning the cat was unexpected.

“Yup. Little monster is the oldest of the three cats I own. Don’t get on me about the three cats, I know, I know. I normally have a strict ‘Hands to cats’ rule.” You groaned as you saw a black tail bobbing toward the back of the roof.

“She a scratcher?” Levi’s question seemed off topic but the concern of his neighbor breaking her neck falling off his roof wasn’t unreasonable. Levi tossed his coat on the hood of his car and loosened his tie. You doubted the ladder he would retrieve would be dirty enough to need the removal of his coat but he was probably just being cautious.

“She engages the ‘IGNORE ME’ defense method under most circumstances. I’m surprised she is up on your roof really. Normally she would just be a tiny unmoving ball in the shadowiest spot she could find.” You tried to quell any fears he might have of you tumbling from his roof with a struggling cat.

“So she won’t be trying to claw my face off. Good. Eren, on hands and knees.” Levi commanded his subordinate with a point to the clearing by the lowest point of the roof. You recalled with a mild smirk that Eren was the one Levi had mentioned bullying into working through a project. You were surprised to see the young man not ague but rather just drop to hands and knees at the designated spot. The swift accordance told you that he had a great deal of respect and understanding for his gruff manager. 

Choking on shock you watched as Levi took a few swift steps, launched off Eren’s arched back to jump up what must still have been over six feet and grab the edge of the roof. With a display of unbelievable grip and upper body strength Levi pulled himself smoothly onto the roof. The strength needed to do something like that so effortlessly was not lost on you. A slight warmth to your cheeks warned you that getting the butterflies in your stomach to settle before he returned was a good idea. 

Moments later Levi appeared on the ground, coming around the house with a small ball of pitch colored fur in his arms. As you expected the little cat was using her skills at being tiny and still to defend against the man that had caught her. “Want me to just put her in your place so she doesn’t have a chance to break away again?” the ravenette offered. A shallow nod was all you could offer as answer as you were still speechless at the show of remarkable athleticism the man had just displayed. 

Levi breezed past with the swift pace you were used to him moving with. How he had gotten off the roof so quickly without help was beyond you but the absence of any limping had you sure he had somehow managed to control his drop, even with arms full of cat, to prevent injury. 

As the younger man came to stand next to you, you chided yourself for having been ignoring the person that had offered himself up wordlessly as a step stool. Having Levi push off his back must have also required some real strength. You smiled brightly at the youth and offered a hand shake. “Thanks so much for helping me out, I’m (Y/N).” 

Taking your hand in a firm shake you were struck as passing clouds darkened the green eyes to something akin to pine needles. Your breath was stuck in your throat at the stunning beauty of the kid. You were a little jealous that the other staff got to spend their days with these two men that were model handsome, while your coworker were, in a word, lackluster. “No trouble, I’m Eren. Eren Jaeger. Pleased to meet’cha.” You weren’t sure but you thought you might have seen a slight dusting of pink hit his cheeks. 

Just as an awkward silence threatened to bloom a petite red head came strolling over. “Hey Eren, where’s the boss? Why are you here?”

“Hey Petra, Levi is at (F/N)’s. Her cat managed to get stuck on his roof and he is dropping the tiny floof at her place. (F/N), this is my coworker Petra Ral, Petra this is (Y/N) Levi’s neighbor.” 

Offering a big smile and your hand, you recalled that Petra was the one Levi was making mixtapes for. She took your hand and you weren’t sure why but it seemed like her smile was a little insincere. Shrugging it off your as imagination since you had just met her, you looked toward your residence. Levi was taking longer than expected to return from dropping off the cat. “Pleased to meet you Petra. Levi has mentioned you as having good taste in music.” You were embellishing a bit, Levi hardly mentioned his employees, but you were hoping to offer up a olive branch for delaying the trio from work. 

Speaking of the devil, Levi reappeared from the depths of your partially underground home. A small snicker took hold on your face as you couldn’t repress the thought of Levi as some angry modern hobbit. His icy gaze caught your grin and his head tilted to the side questioningly. “What’s with you, brat. Looking at me like I have crap on me face.” Levi’s ever poetic vocabulary collapsed any chance you had of not laughing at your internal joke. 

“I don’t think you’ll find it as funny.” You got out between fits of laugher. You were sure Eren and Petra must have thought you were a total nut job so you tried even harder to get the last burst of giggles under control.

“Try me brat.” Levi was in front of you now, arms crossed and challenging glint in his eye. You were powerless against him with a look like that on his face. 

“I was just struck with this image of you as some modern Bilbo Baggins emerging from your hobbit home, only you have this death glare that made it such a juxtaposition that I couldn’t help but bust up. Sorry.” Despite your attempt at an apology you couldn’t stop giggling through the explanation. 

Had you been more observant of the other two people present you might have noticed they were dumb struck by your admittance and had stepping back to get clear of the coming storm. Instead your eyes were for Levi alone. You weren’t oblivious to his potential offense at your joke, though. You knew he could resent the comparison and saying it with his coworkers present was maybe going to make it worse. 

“Tch, I think I just proved I am more spry elf than filthy hobbit, you goof. Sorry I was down there so long had to wash up. Also helped myself to a bite of the food you have going cold on your counter. Not bad.”

“Fuck! My yakisoba. Murrrr. That damn cat! Was it cold yet?” You asked, unsure if Levi really had stolen a bit of your lunch. 

“Lukewarm, but if you pop down now I bet its salvageable. Where did you get it? I need to have lunch myself. I assume it’s close?” The slight warmth in his otherwise blank face was the only hint you had that your hobbit comment hadn’t given insult. 

“It’s those noodles I get at the market. I just throw in a bunch of fresh veggies and a few extra spices and it usually turns out edible. I could give you a packet, but it takes me at least half an hour to do the whole prep and cooking so I’m betting you don’t have the time today.” You were used to cooking for yourself and you knew that what you made often was crafted to your taste preference more than standardly good. You weren’t about to force the concoction on your neighbor.

“Shit. Guess that means I’m getting disgusting grease with a side of corn syrup for lunch. Should have just stolen yours. Blamed it on the damn cat.” Hoping he wasn’t just being nice in his compliment of your cooking you made an offer that normally you would have been too shy to do. The relaxing feeling of being around Levi was making you act a bit more bravely.

“If you’ll really eat it I am happy to give it to you. You did just rescue my cat after all. I owe it to you to try and make up some of the lost time.” The brightness that entered his silver hues might only have been the clouds parting to let the sun through but you were hopeful it was actually that Levi was interested in the offer.

“I’d love that, you sure you don’t mind my stealing your food? Don’t want you starving on me.” The possessive concern in his voice stirred up the butterflies you had settled earlier. He probably couldn’t even tell he had that affect on you, you only half hoped. 

“I have other stuff I can make too. I’ll eat, I promise. Let me just go put it in a carry away for you.” As you started to walk away you paused at realizing the slight you had just made. You were definitely not offering up enough food for all three of them.

“Hey boss, can I get some of-“ Eren was asking hopefully only to have Levi harshly cut in.

“Fuck. No.” Even with his back to you, you could hear the cold glare in Levi’s words. “Jaeger, you’re a minion so you are on your own for food. Don’t bother (F/N) with that shit. Actually I’m not really sure why either of you are even in my damn yard. The hell you doing here Ral?”

You deserted the threesome to place the food into a glass storage container you had received for your birthday from your sister. You loved the sort of festive red and green pattern on it and it was your favorite of the containers you had on offer. You tossed the healthy portion in the microwave and nuked it for a minute to chase the chill away incase Levi didn’t get to eat the offering until he reached the office. Grabbing one of the smaller reusable bags you had for the market you dropped a fork and a pair of chopsticks in the bag with a handful of napkins. 

Returning to the yard you expected to need to knock on Levi’s door since he would probably have left to retrieve the earlier mentioned reports. Instead you paused feeling awkwardly intrusive. Eren had left the group, probably to gather the reports. Now it was just Petra and Levi in his yard with her standing so much in his personal space you knew they had to be closer than just work acquaintances. You had thought you remembered Levi saying she had a boyfriend in the office but the way she had hand on his upper arm was much more personal than you would have ever done to your boss. 

Not that it was your place to judge but it did sting a little that he might have real interest in her and not realize the position he was putting you in. Social skills were a definite weak point for this man, after all. While it was nice to think of Levi as a friend the truth was you two had only been in each others company a little over a half dozen times. You were by no means the keeper of his secrets so you stamped out the twinge of jealousy before it could take root. You had no room to stake claim to the guy before you so going over there and confronting them was only going to make you feel self-conscious. 

“Here ya go Levi. Sorry I don’t have more to offer for you some too, Petra, or anything for Eren. The kid did offer up his back to help me out after all.” As Levi turned to greet you, you caught what looked like a flash of annoyance at the hand still lingering on his arm. You wrote off the flicker of emotion as hopefulness on your part but Levi did step closer to you to accept the reward and Petra’s hand fell away from the distance.

“Don’t let me catch you feeding that kid’s ego, brat. He has this monster of a personality that comes out if you feed it. I have to keep giving him large doses of humility or he’d be unbearable to be around. Arrogant little shit.” Levi had moved so his shoulder was up against yours as his hand took the bag to glance inside. You couldn’t help but notice he was subtly trying to dissuade Petra’s over affection.

“Wait, sir, Eren helped you get the cat somehow?” Petra was completely incredulous with some portion of the thought. You were unsure if it was that Levi needed Eren’s help or that Eren’s back had been useful in catching a cat somehow.

“Yeah, you should have seen it. Levi is amazingly fit! He just used Eren as a slight push off and free climbed up onto the roof! I couldn’t believe it. No offense Levi, I don’t mean to make it sound like I expect you to be some slothful layabout, but I’d only ever expect a professional climber who part-times as an acrobat to have that level of body tone. You don’t strike me as some over the  top fitness nut so I’m just really impressed.” 

You tried to tone down the obvious admiration you had for him. So what if he was absurdly fit, sexy in an inhuman sort of way and your neighbor. That was no reason to act like some groupie for the crass little man. Looking at the victim of your overzealous praise you caught the smug smirk that he was obviously trying to suppress. You were glad you had gushed a little as you took in the brief glimpse of pride Levi let slip out. Levi looked down into the bag a second time and you noticed his jaw tightening.

“Oi brat.” Levi let his normal slightly disgruntled expression to take hold once again. “Did one of these fuckers tell you and that’s why you gave me this? It’s not fucking cute.” With a slight deepening to his frown he held up the bag and its lunch offering. Thinking on the components you weren’t sure to what he was referring.

“The utensils? I just tossed in the things I might want. No one said anything about anything.” You had a very confused expression at his seeming annoyance at the contents. What could you have done to offend the guy so much?

“Not that. That was thoughtful. I mean the ugly container it’s in, dummy. Don’t play coy. It doesn’t suit you.” 

And that was not the way to say that. You were astoundingly skilled at hearing intent over words being spoken in nearly all cases but this time Levi had managed to truly offend you. Your expression darkened at the insult to the prized gift from your sibling.

“That is my favorite storage dish, Levi. My sister got it for me for my last birthday, since she knows my favorite holiday of all time is Christmas. So what if it looks festive you ungrateful little jerk. Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth.” You were snarling out the words through clenched teeth. Being around Levi was a little like being on an emotional rollercoaster. This time it might fly right off the track if Levi didn’t find a way to placate you after such a thoughtless quip. 

The universe must have taken some great pity on the short man because Eren walked over totally oblivious to the mood and unintentionally partially diffused the landmine Levi had unearthed. “Did I hear someone say something about looking in Jean’s mouth? That would be really gross.” The snickering glee on Eren’s face about his own private joke was just contagious enough to smother the wrath Levi had almost unleashed. You took a deep breath trying to calm enough to be able to apologize for flying off like that. Levi couldn’t know you were lending him something so sentimental and that the disparaging of a carry dish would be received like he insulted your sister. 

“You really can’t read a woman’s mood very well, can you Eren.” Petra had taken a few steps back sensing that an unstoppable force was careening toward an immovable object. You had no doubt Levi would not offer anything to ease the tension your outburst had caused so it was up to you to salvage the mood. Before you could speak Levi did something that had all three of your mouths gaping like fish out of water.

“Sorry (F/N), I was getting defensive. I shouldn’t have been so rude about something you were lending me. I thought either Tweedledee or Tweedledum here had blabbed that my birthday is December 25th. Thought you were being a clever shit, subtly teasing me about it.” This was not the first time Levi had startled you with his blunt delivery of an apology. The act blew you out of the water all the same. The look of shock on the faces of his subordinates confirmed it was not a common behavior for their fiery tempered manager. 

With a sigh you knew you were totally doomed to never stay mad at this man if he ever figured out how to actually keep his own temper in check. “Already forgiven Levi. But why would I tease you about having your birthday the same date as some major holiday? Maybe I have a bit more sympathy for you since my birthday was almost Valentines Day? Makes it so I can’t see a punch line. It’s no fun having some random holiday party out shine friends and family celebrating you.” You offered up a compassionate smile from the empathy you had for him. You knew he wasn’t the sort to openly show the absence of people making a fuss over him was disheartening. Truth was he probably hated the idea of people going to any trouble for him. Didn’t change the fact that everyone needed a moment where the people that mattered in their life stopped and said ‘I am glad you are here’. 

A mumbled phrase next to you reminded you that Levi’s draw had once again left you forgetting about the other people standing around you. You weren’t sure what he said but Eren had let some utterance escape him. It almost sounded like ‘ so cute’ but you weren’t sure what he could possibly be saying that about. Eren had a deep blush taking over his face and you weren’t sure what could have flustered him so much. Whatever it was Levi seemed to feel it needed moving on from because he collected himself back into his normal dispassionate self to snarled at his charges.

“We have wasted way too much time in my damn yard. You two weren’t supposed to even leave work and yet now all three of us are behind because your damn boyfriend can’t keep track of a single fucking briefcase.” The ire in Levi’s gaze was scalding as he looked at Petra. “Jaeger I don’t need you going all Incredible Hulk on me so stop and get lunch before showing back up at the office. Ral, get back there and get to work. I didn’t request either of you shits to be here so get off my damn lawn.”

Turning his attention back to you, you caught a smirk grace Levi’s lips as he looked you up and down. “You really need a shower brat. You’re filthy.” You felt your cheeks heat up at the light touch of Levi brushing some dirt from your waist in illustration of his point. 

“I don’t know if anyones ever told you this Levi, but under those shrubs is nothing but dirt. It goes down for miles. Dirt on top of dirt on top of dirt. The world is a filthy place.” You let a small bit of snark season the playful jab.

“I don’t know if anyone told you, (F/N) but that smell is from my recently fertilizing those bushes. So it’s crap at the very top of that pile of dirt. You most likely have shit all over your top.” You would have been embarrassed by that knowledge but Levi had moved closer and into a challenging stance with a smug smirk and his hands authoritatively on his toned hips. You could think of only one way to answer the thrown gauntlet. 

With total disregard to your wellbeing you snatched the man into a hug and rubbed your grime covered front into his pristine white shirt. The startled protest that Levi let out was worth the undoubted wrath he was going to bring down on you for your trespass. 

“Fucking, shit assed, BRAT!” The boiling rage you could hear in his words was contradicted by what you could see as open mirth in his eyes. “Oi, blunder twins, tell anyone about this and I will ship you off to the mail room.” Levi addressed his pair of employees that had stopped to witness the hullabaloo. “I’ll be in after I fucking shower. Gross. Your days are numbered now, (L/N). Don’t think you can just get away with this shit.”

As the storm of grumpy headed for his front door you called after him. “See you Wednesday, Levi?”

“Mhm.” The growled sound was all the time bomb of retaliation offered you. You then caught what must have been a trick of optics because for an instant you thought you saw Levi smile before he disappeared into his house. In the last two months you had never seen the man really smile so you were sure it couldn’t be the case.

You waved after Petra and Eren as they drove off. Both waved back, although you thought the look Petra gave you wasn’t altogether friendly. This wasn’t a foreign reaction for you, but it was surprising. You had only just met her and she was already getting territorial on you. If she and Levi had a thing going on he didn’t seem to be interested. Maybe it was just that you had also just made her boss even later at returning to the office. Knowing Levi he was going to be back out the door and on his way to the office before you were even getting into your shower, though. They guy seemed to be supernatural when it came to cleaning.

You strolled blithely through your own door to throw laundry in the dryer and hop in the shower. Now that Levi pointed it out you did smell like crap.

A vibration from your phone stopped you from climbing into the the hot shower you had just started. Seeing it was from Levi you laughed at the speed of the man’s cleaning skills. Maybe he really was some sort of magical cleaning elf. 

-Thanks for the lunch (F/N). It’s delicious. When xmas comes around maybe you could help remind me how to celebrate it. Been a long time since I enjoyed the holiday.-

-I’d love that Levi! But I should warn you, knowing it’s your birthday will end up making me be all sappy and girly about celebrating you too. Prepare to be doted upon to the point of/exceeding obnoxiousness!-

He didn’t type it, but you could still hear the ’tch’ prefacing his response. 

-brat-

Being carful not to slip, you climbed into the steaming shower, dying from laughter.

 

**

 

Eren smiled to himself as he entered the Recon Corporation office building. He had his arms full of the requested foods for everyone. Nearly bumping into Hange, Eren used a flash of grace, surprising even himself, to keep from dropping or spilling anything. 

“Ah, sorry boss, didn’t see ya.”

“It’s fine Eren. Hey, what is Levi eating? It’s all red and gory looking.” Eren wasn’t sure why Hange seemed so curious about the most peculiar things but it wasn’t his place to question his eccentric superior.

“Hmph. That’s something Levi’s neighbor made. I think he said it has beets in it, that’s what gives it that red color.”

“His neighbor made him lunch?” The disbelieving wide eyes were mere inches from Eren’s. ‘Personal space? What personal space? This damn office.’ Eren swallowed his discomfort at the proximity.

“No, not really. (F/N) had her cat get out and Levi sort of helped himself to her food as payment for retrieving the cat. She is so sweet Hange. Really pretty. I think she is the one Levi has been helping out on Wednesdays.” Eren blushed a little at the memory of how cute she had been when she had let her kind heart show.

“You don’t have a crush on her do you, Eren?” The poke to his arm brought Eren back to the moment and reminded him he was lurking just outside Levi’s office with the local Mad Hatter. 

“No! No, nothing like that I only just met her-“

“Why are you idiots loitering right outside my office? Jaeger, get to work! Shitty-glasses, shouldn’t your keeper be collecting you? Fucking Moblit, he has one fucking job.” Levi had not gotten up but the menacing look was enough to send Eren fleeing.

“Aw, Shorty, I was teasing him. He has a crush on your neighbor.”

“He’d better not. That one is mine. Now get outta here four-eyes. I’m trying to make sense of your last report. Do you know how to use the spell check?”

“Mine stopped working for some reason. Moblit said it gave up. Want my help?”

“Fuck. Off. Now.” Levi wasn’t even mad. Nothing phased him about Hange anymore. Before any more harassment of the smaller of them could occur a body tackled the enigma to the floor. “Thank fuck. Moblit, took you long enough.”

“Section leader, I thought we agreed you were going to leave him alone?”

“We did. I was. But his food looks so weird-“ A large book nearly stopped the words with a direct hit to the mouth but the swift hand of Moblit caught the tome before impact. Levi was just watching the pair, waiting to see if words were needed to convey his desires. 

“We’re going, we’re going.” Moblit tossed the book back to Levi and started shoving his charge away.

“Stupid fucking Shitty-glasses, insulting my food.” Levi tutted as he tucked the letter opener back into the desk drawer, he hadn’t noticed he’d picked it up.


	4. Night Terrors

Your hands were slick, yet sticky. You couldn’t see anything, there was something over your eyes preventing it. Struggling and twisting slightly at whatever was restraining your wrists you heard a sharp popping and tearing as the duct tape gave way to your efforts. Something had been near your bound wrists that freed you. It was also covered in the slippery substance that was clumping on your long sleeves. 

Ripping the blindfold form your eyes you turned to look at what had helped free you. It took your frantic brain a moment to put the pieces into a full picture for you. Your mind had started to understand and had slowed down, trying to let you realize you needed to look away, run for it and never look back. But it was too late. You saw the whole horrific situation and couldn’t contain the sobbing gasp that escaped your lips. Fear brought your hands to your mouth to try and control the sounds of horror you made, but this only made it worse because your hands were coated in blood. His blood.

He had his hands wedged at an angle that made the sharp bit of broken glass stable enough for you to cut free on. As if the last thought in his mind had been that he wanted to free you, save you, even if he died. And he had. The hole in his chest was gaping. Everything you saw was in deep shadow, the reds were almost black. The sinewy tatters of flesh strewn about made bile rise in your throat. What had happened? Why were you even here? What did this to your friend, and what did it intend to do to you?

“Oh, Levi. I’m so sorry, I don’t think I can take you with me. I’ll come back for you. I’ll bring help and we will stop whatever did this to you. I promise.” Tears were trailing down your cheeks as you kissed the pallid forehead of your friend and neighbor. 

Struggling to stand you tried to see were the light was coming from, which way might have led to an exit or at least a better hiding spot. The slick wet sound of something meaty falling to the ground with a sickening thump pulled your attention to the far corner. As the thing started to stand up all you could tell was that it was big. Much too big to be a normal man. Its face was a mask of red as it started froward, enormous humanoid frame making the ground shudder beneath it. As the monster walked forward another step into the light, your breath caught and you were choking on a scream. The thing in front of you didn’t just have blood on its face, it had no skin at all. The whitish pink of the cheek bones and crimson string like muscles were covered in additional gore. Covered in bits of Levi.

The monstrosity lifted a blood soaked hand toward you, heat radiating from it in waves. You stumbled back tripping on your own feet and fell onto you back, head not quite hitting the ground. You struggled to stand again but your feet were tangled in something you couldn’t make sense of. The giant’s hand grabbed your leg pulling you up by it. This was it, you were next, you wouldn’t be able to keep your promise to Levi, and his efforts were all for naught. 

The sudden weight on your abdomen knocked your breath out forcing you to cough and sputter. With a warm tangle of bedding wrapped around your feet you were helpless against your cat’s assault. He had once again jumped off the top of the book case squarely onto your diaphragm. The sadistic little bastard must have loved the sound you made gasping for air. A warm furry body pressed along you cheek, deep contented purr helping to chase away the after images of your nightmare. 

Reaching over blindly you looked at your phone. 4:13am. You had only been asleep for less than four hours? You were normally used to dealing with your vivid dreams but with the night being so dark out and the basement apartment you now called home still feeling somewhat unfamiliar you found this nightmare to be keeping you in full panic mode. 

Without giving any thought to the hour or the fact that you didn’t really know him well enough for this you rang the man your heart was still weeping for. You had to hear his grumpy voice tell you that he was alive and well and that the nightmare was just a dream and that he hadn’t been eaten, that he was safe. After only the second ring a groggy male voice muttered in your ear.

“(F/N), for the love of all that is holy, why the shit are you waking me at this hour? If you are drunk and need to get picked up, call a fucking cab. I’ll even fucking pay, I’m just not getting out of bed.”

“No, no it’s not… Sorry Levi, I just had to be sure you were okay. I didn’t think. I’m sorry I woke you.” Your voice cracked, despite yourself. The voice of the man was being melded into the image from your dream. You bit your lip, frantic to contain the sob that threatened to escape. You hadn’t realized but your cheeks were still damp with tears from crying in your sleep.

“What the… (F/N)? Are you alright? What do you mean you wanted to make sure I was okay? What happened?” The voice on the other end of the line was alert now. The panic in your voice having cut through the sleepy stupor of your neighbor.

You couldn’t speak, the wrenching burn in your throat was too much. You just couldn’t shake the horrible thought of him ripped open. A shuddering breath was all you could offer to let him know the line hadn’t disconnected. 

“Alright, I’m coming over, go to the door and let me in.” The command was given and without waiting for acknowledgment the phone went out in your hand. Struggling to get free of the bedding and remove the purring leach from your shoulder, you stood up to try and get to the front door.

A loud knock sent your heart racing once again, despite your expecting the sound. A gentler than usual voice called from the other side of the door. “Oi, (F/N), it’s me. Open up.”

Opening the door you took in the sight of your fully alive and not even a little chewed on neighbor. His hair was tussled and he was barefoot in loose black tie-top pants and black hoody, he had his hands stuffed in his hoody’s pockets. Not waiting to be invited in the normal look of agitated boredom was augmented by his concern. His face now held signs of worry and something else you couldn’t name, brows ever so slightly furrowed, slight frown tugging the corners of his lips. The man’s expression hadn’t changed much but you could see that the still surface was hiding tumultuousness in its depths. 

There was a coldness in his eyes as he brushed past you and down the steps to search the front room. Next he went to scan the bathroom, even looking behind the door, then moved on to checking your bedroom, even dropping down to look under the bed. The only thing he found was the familiar gaze of two green eyes hiding in the shadows under the mattress. One eyebrow quirked up as he took in the view of other two cats now snuggled in the recently abandoned warmth of your bed.

Returning to the front room he looked you over with a scrutinizing gaze. The coldness in his eyes bled away to a warmer caring look that seemed to ease away the nameless icy emotion he had entered with. Finally taking his hands from his pockets, he crossed his arms across his chest. The authoritative stance left you feeling oddly intimidated despite your normal ease with him.

“You’ve been crying. What happened?” His voice held only a shadow of the concern you could see in his eyes. You just couldn’t figure out how this guy could seem so bristly all the time. You could see past it but that didn’t mean that right now you didn’t need more than a curt tone and grumpy attitude from him.

“I had a nightmare that you were killed and eaten while trying to save me from a giant skinless monster.” Your voice was wobbly and broke slightly when you said eaten. You couldn’t look him in the eye, embarrassed to the core at waking him. Looking at him now, in the fully lit room, you just felt plain stupid for letting this get to you so much. Not because that was helping to chase away the fear, no, it just meant now you felt terrified and stupid.

Levi nodded once to himself and reached out slowly taking you hands in his. He pulled one hand up and guided you fingers to the pulse in his neck, the other hand he pressed to his chest, strong steady beat felt at both points. Telling you without doubt the man before you was alive and kicking, not a mess of red ruin.

“See brat, I’m fine. Not dead. No monsters here.” The last had a bit of a smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. Was he teasing you about having a nightmare? It was kind of silly. You were a grown woman after all, afraid of a monster under your bed. The steady beat against your hands sped up slightly as Levi took a step forward and wrapped his arms around you in a hug. Pulling you firmly against him, you could sense the power behind his small frame was far more than you could fathom. The muscled arms that held you close were like iron and he didn’t even seem to be trying to flex them. 

A warm hand started to brush through your hair as you nestled your face a little more into the solid and real shoulder of the man you needed to verify was living. The gentle stroking was calming and the warm body holding you in the well lit room finally shattered the hold the horrible vision had on you. Exhaustion from the slight rest tainted by grizzly dream and the panic that followed came crashing down. You hadn’t even noticed you were drifting off. One second you were fully supporting your own weight, the next Levi had to use lightning quick reflexes to scoop you up before you collapsed to the floor. 

Levi carried you to your bed and looked down with a frustrated scowl. “Tch, how is it that you have a queen size bed and yet there isn’t enough room for me to put you down, purely because of two 10 pound cats? Of all the stupid problems to be having. Oi, fluffier one, yeah you with the miss matched eyes, move.”

With a big yawn and a sleepy expression the large cotton ball of a white cat got up, slowly. Levi’s eyebrow twitched as the cat then just curled up again, now with his back to the noisy human. “I swear cat, I will drop her on you. I’ll do it, so you had better move.” The second cat now looked at the ruckus and with an audible sigh stretched out even longer now somehow making any accessible part of the bed filled with cat limbs. “I hate both of you so much right now. I mean normally I am a cat person but right this second you are between me and sleep and I can’t just-“

In a groggy half asleep motion you used your previously dangling hand to shove the closer of the two cats over on the bed,  while mumbling. “Bishop, move your poof butt, humans get priority seating.” The second cat hearing you talk gave an inquisitive mew earning him a glare as you remembered his earlier act of free falling onto your gut. “Seifer, you dick, get outta the bed. I don’t care if I was having a nightmare you can’t keep jumping on me from so high up. I’ll die. Or I’ll kill you. Either outcome is awful. So just stop.” A second inquisitive meow confirmed the cat either didn’t understand english or that he was faking that he didn’t so he could jump on you again. “Damnit. You are lucky I love you unconditionally, you asshole.”

Levi gave a soft sigh and slid you under the now catless side of the covers. “I’ll be calling you when I wake up brat. Try to get some sleep.” Levi pulled the covers over you more, helping you snuggle back into the warm safety of sleep. “I’ll lock the door with your keys and drop them back through the mail slot.” He leaned away then, the absence of his presence enough to pull you out of the fast approaching deep slumber. 

“Levi, could you please turn the volume up on my computer? It’s playing music but I can’t hear it.” Levi looked around and saw the computer in question. Walking over Levi tapped the keyboard to wake the screen and saw that the computer was indeed playing a song from a playlist you had made.

“Hm, not bad. You have good taste in music.” Clicking the volume up two more notches Levi returned to your slumbering side. “That better, love?” The best you could offer was a contented hum that almost resembled a confirmation. You didn’t see it, but a smirk was on his lips as the two cats claimed you as a pillow, rumbling purrs expressing the contented companionship with their person. “Ok, you try again, only this time try for pleasant dreams, hm?” A soft brushing of Levi’s lips on your forehead was his parting gift to you.

 

**

 

When Levi did call you in the morning, you felt horrible for waking him. A call at 8am meant the poor man had been woken up with little over three hours before needing to rise for work. You had apologized for waking him and you really hated that you had freaked out so much over some crappy dream.

“It’s fine you idiot. If it happens again, you don’t have to feel badly about calling me. Hell, you have another one of those shitty dreams you can just come over to my place if need be. If I can help you out, I want to. Don’t think of it as burdening me. It’s far worse to know you suffered alone than to just put in a bit of effort for you. In case you haven’t noticed, I enjoy helping you.“

“Thanks Levi. If you ever need anything that I can help with, be sure to let me know. I want to start returning some of these favors you keep giving me.” A soft snort on the other end of the line let you know he heard your offer but being Levi he wouldn’t really say much about it. “Hey, Levi?”

“Hm?”

“Do you have a sweetheart?”

“Do I have a what?” The incredulous tone he took made you wonder what he thought you were asking.

“You know, are you seeing someone, a special friend. A sweetheart.” A bit of a blush was taking over your face. You had just wanted to be sure the act of calling in the middle of the night wasn’t getting him in trouble in his love life. There was something in the way he would look at people sometimes, men or women, they seemed to just give him this sort of hungry look. You suspected he might be bi, and didn’t want to make any assumptions about the person he might choose as a partner.

“Are you asking if I’m single or fishing for my preference in partner, you dork?”

Feeling every shade of embarrassed at being called out so bluntly you could only mumble. “Both actually.”

“Tch, well currently I am not dating, so no ‘special friends’. And my last ‘sweetheart’ was a guy, truth be told. That was a lifetime ago though, well, it feels like anyway. Lately I’ve found women to be more interesting. Well. One specific woman actually. But I decided to take it slow, really get to know her. She is an awkward brat that I don’t get to be with often enough. She listens to some really great music. One of these days I’m definitely gonna ask her out.”

You were sure he was referring to Petra and his music gifts to her. Of course he liked the pretty little ginger. She was so delicate and disarmingly coy, she was the perfect sweet to Levi’s sour. “She sounds nice, I’d love to meet her.” Your tone held more of the disappointment you felt at his being interested in someone else than you meant for it to.

“How can you actually be as shitty at this as me? How is that even fucking possible?” You could practically hear him pinching the ridge of his nose in annoyance. “I’m talking about you, dummy.” You choked on your breath. You heart was racing, and not from the normal adrenaline kick that came from needing to politely dismiss unwanted advances. This was a guy that over the last few months had started to fill an unhealthy number of your thoughts. You were sure you were developing a pretty huge crush on him well beyond just lusting after him. “Hello? Did I lose you?” Levi’s worried tone interrupted your train of thought.

“Still here. Just trying to remember how words work. I wasn’t really expecting… that.”

“Oh? Well, if you aren’t interested don’t hold it back for my sake. It’s better to tell me early on, my ego can take the hit. I’d hate to accidentally chase off some guy you were interested in.” You could hear a kind of forced resolve in his tone, like he was determined to not let you know your lack of interest in him would hurt. With his caustic attitude, you expected most people did lack interest in him as more than a one night stand. That or they would hope to change him, break him of the crudeness. He was gorgeous but most people would find it hard to have their morning coffee with so much attitude everyday. So why was your heart fluttering with hopes that you might just get to have that very thing? Being a masochist, jumped to mind. Once again you had been quiet for too long. The silence on the other end of the line heavy from what Levi was sure was your disinterest and impending rejection of him. 

“I’ve been hoping to go out with you some time. You are really hard to read though so I was worried you might not be interested. Plus I’m a bit of an idiot about people. Cats I get, dogs I can read like books, but people? They confuse the hell outta me.”

“You and me both, (F/N). You and me both. I will take you on a date soon enough. I really do fancy you. I just want to take it slow, if you don’t mind. It’s not like there is anyone else that I find even half as interesting as you, after all. I just want to savor this.”

“I’m fine taking it slow. But to warn you, I get super jealous really easy. If you lose interest you’d better tell-“

“Shut up, brat. I won’t just lose interest. I already figured that much out. But you should get some more sleep, your’e closing tonight right? You should try for a few more hours rest. We’ll talk again soon, and I’ll be seeing you Wednesday, right?”

“Right. And you’re right I should try for a bit more sleep.”

“Good. I’m leaving for work but if something happens again don’t hesitate to call me. Got it?”

“Got it. Thanks Levi.”

“Tch. Don’t thank me so much brat. It’ll go to my head. Sweet dreams.”

“Have a good day at work.” You ended the call. Never having climbed from bed you were all set to comply with Levi’s suggestion. However a part of you was so giddy with the idea that Levi was planning on taking you on a date that you couldn’t even hope to sleep. The other grumpy part of you wanted to do as you had said to Levi, rest a bit more to ease your aching bones and tired eyes. Closing your eyes you tried to will sleep to overthrow the bubbly excitement in your belly. You could tell sleep was trying to win out, but the hyper teenager style reaction of crushing on a boy had your heart racing still. That was until a slight warmth started at the back of your mind. A calming and contented glow, it reminded you of the feeling you had in Levi’s arms not four hours earlier. 

The last threads of waking seemed to fray and fall away, deep slumber taking hold. You were snuggling down into the cozy security from your memory. You must have been asleep, because you were sure you heard Levi whispering in your ear.

“That’s my good girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have vivid dreams just like this so I keep giving the condition to Reader. Some of the best dreams I've ever had were nightmares.


	5. Tempers Flare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3DMG is basically Google in this AU.

A couple more Wednesdays had come and gone since one of your incessantly vivid dreams had you waking your neighbor in the middle of the night. The now traditional post office and market trips had been pleasant and without any mention of the admittance you had pulled from Levi about his intentions toward you. You weren’t worried, yet. He had said he wanted to take it slow and if that meant just letting the Wednesdays continue on uninterrupted you could wait. The call Levi was on from the office had seemed to threaten today, though. You were clued into his anger on the matter when you heard him shout ‘You can’t actually fucking need me to come back in!’ from across the yard. You couldn’t be totally sure it would be altering your plans since he had stepped away to take the call. 

Getting off his phone, Levi walked over to properly greet you as the two of you gathered for the usual Wednesday market run. “Hey (F/N), would you mind if we also stopped in at my office? Seems in the hour since I left those idiots have broken something only I can fix.”

“Oh that would be fun! I would love to see the place you spend so much of your day!”

“It’s just a normal office (F/N). Hell you’ve met me, Eren, and Petra. Nothing special there, right?”

You had to stop yourself from explaining that he was as far from ‘nothing special’ as anyone could get. The one of a kind Levi Ackerman was a real catch if you got passed all the gruffness and vulgarity. Eren had seemed unique too with his loyal obedience and odd sense of humor. Petra even seemed to have an air of skill to her that left you feeling out classed even after such a brief meeting. If these were things Levi felt were common place his office must have been more circus than cubical. 

“I just hope there aren’t clowns at this circus. I hate clowns.” You hadn’t meant to say it out loud but Levi only smirked at your off comment.

“We only have the one clown. Hange Zoë is the other manager in my department and watches my section when I’m out or off. How Shitty-glasses let them fuck up this badly is beyond me. I’m sure it won’t take long to fix, but if you like I can come back for you?”

“No, no! I want to see your office! You can’t uninvited me now.”

“Tch, weirdo.” Levi unlocked your door and walked around to get in the driver side. You climbed in excited for the unexpected adventure. “It’s not some office from a sitcom.” 

‘You sure? You and Eren are totally attractive enough to be male leads.’ You were able to keep the comment in your head this time.

 

 

Walking toward the office building you wondered what the inside would be like. You had a slight buzz of anticipation despite Levi’s insistence that it was just a standard office. Something about a company that would employ Levi had you thinking it would be anything but ordinary inside.

At the midpoint of the walkway to the front doors you heard thunderous footsteps coming up behind you. Seeing no place to dodge for cover you went still hoping the approaching tide would pass around you. You nearly fell over when the wave of limbs and energy crashed into you.

“Oh my gosh Shorty is this her? The one Eren mentioned?! Are you sure she isn’t here by coercion? Someone this cute wouldn’t possibly put up with a grump like you without blackmail.” The individual that had collided with you had started spinning you around, looking you over like some sort of lab specimen.

“Stop that Shitty-glasses, you crazed Labrador. Where is Moblit? Shouldn’t he have you on a leash? There are laws about that.” The scowling man pulled you behind him, away from the one spinning you like a top. Meeting the eyes of the one inspecting you, you had only a single word for what you saw gazing back: wild. “Bugger off, or if you like we can run a test to see how far I can throw you. I’ll clear my schedule, could be fun.”

“Oh don’t be that way Shorty. I just wanted to meet her. Uh oh, Looks like Moblit spotted me talking to you. Do you know who told him you might murder me? He has been seriously worked up over that one.”

“I did.” The calm deadpan of Levi’s delivery had even you wondering how serious he was.

You watched in disbelief as the threatening ire floated by unnoticed. “Ah. That makes sense. Well, better get back to it. Aren’t you supposed to be off already?”

“Oluo called me saying ‘someone’ managed to lock the current project and unless I came in we would lose fucking hours to the shitty help desk trying to unlock it. Stupid crap to come back for. Can’t I leave you in charge of them for four fucking hours?”

“Not my fault your people behave like toddlers when you aren’t around. Maybe it’s cause you coddle them too much.” This earned a look from both you and Levi. Levi could never be accused of being coddling on the planet you occupied. Were you looking at some sort of alien?

Seeming to take a sudden interest in something to the yonder the foreign creature dashed off to inspect something that wasn’t you. You watched the mussed auburn ponytail bound away with zeal. That person was like a blood and bone hurricane, acting on impulses far beyond your understanding. Watching the bundle of energy get tackled to the ground was not as surprising as it would have been prior to the encounter. A man with an aura of stressed-the-fuck-out was trying to reign in his now cackling in delight superior. 

“Hey, Levi, is that-“

“Hange Zoë and Moblit Berner. And yup I am pretty sure the stupidity is contagious. Keep safe distance.”

“No, what I meant was-“

“Yes Shitty-glasses is totally insane. I have yet to get documentation but I will if need be. That mad scientist has blown up the break room microwave twice this month alone with ‘experiments’.”

“It’s only the 10th!”

“Yes. Hence Moblit.” Levi gestured to the man now using a fireman’s carry to take the bundle of flailing limbs inside. “He was hired on as a PA but ‘Wrangler of the Disaster called Hange’ is a more apt job title. How the man hasn’t had a heart attack yet is beyond me. I’d just toss the nutter bar off the roof and call it a day.”

 _‘“It’s just a normal office (F/N).”_ Sure Levi, sure, I totally believe you.’ You were steadily becoming more interested in seeing just where it was that Levi worked. 

Marveling at the large sign with it’s white and blue winged icon in all it’s immaculate glory, you had a moment of wondering if Levi had cleaned it. ‘No, he probably made Eren or someone else do it.’ The office you were about to enter was a total mystery to you. You weren’t even really sure what the company did. Recon Corp was a pretty ambiguous company name and your 3DMG search left you with more questions than answers. Whatever the projects were they seemed to be lucrative and the market seemed to think the growth would be steady when you checked out the stock. 

Levi pulled open the front door and went through, pausing to hold it open behind him. Something about the gesture made you look around for a threat. It was as if Levi was taking point on some espionage mission and you were a target of value. Your imagination stalled out as you saw the totally normal and completely uninteresting front desk. 

Sitting behind the desk was a young twenty-something with the single most open smile you’d seen in years. His dusting of freckles and apparent good nature made you wonder if maybe he wasn’t even younger than twenty. When the smile didn’t falter at the encroaching Thunderstorm Levi you knew you were about to see another one of the things that made this place so unique.

“Oi, Marco, gimme one of those guest badges for (F/N) here. The stupid shit I deal with.”

“Sure Levi. Hey, why are you back? Jean and Eren didn’t come to blows again did they?”

“Ugh, your boyfriend’s not working my section this month. I hope. Fuck, if Shadis changed that, I had better not find out today. I’m only one small step away from arson.”

The good humored chuckle from the man behind the desk made your own smile bigger. This guy just had an aura of kindness to him that brought out the good in anyone. It was smart making him the first face to greeted arrivals. He didn’t seem the least bit bothered by Levi, either. A guy like this was sure to be a hot commodity in the business world. The name he had mentioned rang a small bell. Eren had said something about a Jean, but this probably wasn’t the best time to ask after it.

With the lanyard of the entry pass around your neck, you followed Levi back into the hedge maze of cubicles and nondescript white walls that was the back drop to every office. You could see a stain from black smoke and a note on the entry to what must have been the break room. The printed note made mention that in case of Hange being there unsupervised one should contact Moblit immediately and a number to reach him. There was another addition at the bottom that looked to be Levi’s neat calligraphy noting that in case of fire he could be contacted to silence the alarm if the sprinklers weren’t going. His number was also penned on the page.

Levi had kept going when you paused to read the mandate and looking to where you expected him you were aghast to realize you were now alone. The uncertainty of where you should head lasted only a second as you heard the all too familiar bark of authority ring out through the building.

“Of all the stupid shit you lazy fucks put me through, you seriously called me for this?! Listen you scumbags, I have a life and make plans to do things aside from hold your fucking hand all the damn time. You want to get mollycoddled you are looking in the wrong place. Which of you stupid shits made a mess of my project?” After trying to follow the voice you were annoyed to find that the cubicles really were a maze and the dead end you’d reached had you a few feet from the source of the yelling but unable to get to it. Doubling back you tried to find your way through the labyrinth.

“Horse-face did it.” You recognized the voice as Eren’s but there was a gruffness that was unexpected for the sweet young man you’d met. 

“What was that, you damn psycho?” This outburst started the whole group going and you could make out the soothing melodic voice of Petra trying to calm the situation as Eren and who ever took exception to Horse-face started to get heated. Others were also trying to defuse the situation in a cacophony of voices.  As you rounded the bend to the open space leading to the manager offices you were shocked to see how much the group was getting out of hand.

Levi was standing back from the group, eyes closed and fists clenched at his side. The look on his face was the same as the one you had seen when he entered your flat the night you had woken him only now with no hint of the concern. This was the only warning visible that the man’s mood had shifted to something other than his normal grumpy. On the floor a few feet away you saw two young men fighting in a sloppy brawl. One of the men you knew as Eren and the other with the ever so slightly equine features was bound to be the one Eren had provoked.

“Jean, be the bigger man and just let it go!” Petra was struggling to move closer to split them up but was being held back by a man with a bored scowl and undercut. 

A man with an impressively styled head of blonde hair leaned against the wall and looked on with weary irritation. As the more seasoned looking of the lot it seemed this was all old hat to him and nothing worth getting worked up over. He was saying something to the end of this being just more wasted time to the slightly younger man next to him. They seemed to think it was best to not go near the fisticuff either.

Just as Eren rolled on top of Jean and reared back to land an aggressive punch, a serpent swift kick had the brunette tumbling into the wall. The gleaming patent leather shoe had Jean’s face pinned to the floor as Levi watched Eren right himself from the awkward angle his graceless landing had ended in. The icy dark expression on Levi’s profile gave a small glimpse of the rage that was being caged within.

“Calm down. I’m going to lose my patients if you two can’t stop being so fucking rowdy.” Levi’s eyes widened as he saw you in the reflection of the glass door to the right of Eren’s slumping form. Seeming to suddenly register the excess of his actions Levi took three fast backward steps away from Jean and closer to you. “Fuck, (F/N), sorry you’re seeing me like this. Shit.” Levi kept his back to you as he started to brood in self-disparagement. He clearly hated losing control of his temper around you.

Levi’s apology alerted Eren to your presence, and his eye’s lit up like a gold and green Christmas tree. Eren popped up and dashed over to you, big smile stretched ear to ear. The fury that had been rampaging on the floor had completely vanished from the emerald eyes locking with yours. He had the sweetest smile and his standing suddenly so close to you had you blushing slightly at the intimate feeling of it.

“Oi, Jaeger, back off the lady, you hyperactive brat.” You looked around Eren to the man who had channeled Levi’s words. The disinterested expression made you think the similar speech pattern was intentional and not just the side effect of prolonged exposure to Levi. His arms wrapped around Petra left you suspecting he was the previously mention Oluo and the blonde leaning on the wall with the aura of seniority was Eld. You couldn’t think of a name that Levi had mentioned that could belong to the one with the rich brown faux-hawk.

“Oluo, shut up. Eren, back the fuck up, or I’m throwing you out a window. I may or may not open it first. Jean, get out of my fucking section before I sic Shitty-glasses on you. I’d recommend running.” The warning growl of the man blocked from view by Eren’s presence in you bubble held such threat that you felt yourself straighten to attention. “Eld, Gunther, you mind taking (F/N) to my office and getting her settled while I fix this shit on Eren’s station?”

The lad with the faux-hawk stopped slouching and nodded. “Sure thing boss. Eld and I got it. Hi ya, (F/N), want any tea or coffee while you wait?”

“Don’t let her drink the coffee if Zoë made it. I don’t want anyone poisoning her.” Levi refused to look at you, but you still caught glimpses of apparent shame. You remembered the aspersion at the market and the similar look afterwards. He certainly didn’t like letting his anger get away from him and doing so in front of you seemed to make it even worse. 

You stepped around Eren, who hadn’t seemed to register Levi’s threat, to grab Levi’s sleeve. Pulling the soft cotton firmly enough to make him stop and turn. You smiled at him and leaned in to whisper in his ear. Cupping your hand to his ear to better make the words for you and him alone had him going statue still. “Do you have any of that music around I can sift through? I want to know what you are educating them on.”

There was no reason to whisper your question beyond wanting an excuse to force him to look at you and see that you were completely unfazed by the events just passed. Levi was looking at you with such open admiration that you felt your blush creeping back up. Before the lingering gaze could turn you red Levi pulled some keys from his pocket and selected a smaller desk key. He presented the collection with the singled out one jingling like a tiny bell. Leaning in his lips ghosted your ear as he whispered back. “Top left desk drawer. They are in an order that I don’t feel like explaining so just try not to make a mess of them.”

You nodded understanding and turned to join the pair that had been assigned as your escort. Eld was looking at you with one eyebrow crooked like you had surprised him. Gunther was notably less subtle and was slack jawed with shock, giving you the same look he’d have given a unicorn had it wandered into the office. Eren brushed by you, using a gentle touch on your side to keep from running into you. He was blushing slightly but you were glad he wasn’t so embarrassed that he couldn’t meet your eye. You gave him a kind smile to show there was no hard feelings from the awkward greeting. 

You stepped over the still floored Jean to reach Eld’s side. You looked back to be sure he was alright and could see that he was on the floor sulking, not from injury. The backward glance let you catch the look Petra was giving you from the arms of her sweetie. It was entirely unfriendly and you had a moment of total rage spark for it. ‘Oh, hell no. Little girl, I will end you,’ your inner voice snarled.

You weren’t the sort to normally begrudge someone for feeling jealous but the ginger haired girl was in the arms of one man and implying claim to another with her glare. Even if the look hadn’t been directed at you, or the claimed man been Levi, you would have been pissed at the little trollop. You believed in being loyal to the one you were dating and unless Oluo was equally interested in Levi joining them you felt it was a heartless thing to act so possessive of the man she wasn’t clinging to.

“Oi, Bozo, you and Ral get back to work on the Miller project. That should be something you can work on while I sort this.”

“Name’s Bozado, sir.” Oluo corrected.

“Tch, I owe you an apology (F/N), there are two clowns in this office. I over looked it since neither of them are funny.”

“Levi that’s not nice. Oluo is obviously more like Pierrot.” You smiled with good humor at the man in question.

“I don’t… What?” Oluo looked so confused, you took pity.

“Look up Bozo and Pierrot the Clown sometime. You’ll get it. Damn uncultured brats.” You stated the last with far more bemusement than the man that had made the endearment a part of your vocabulary. 

As you neared, Eld cuffed your shoulder and laughed. “I think I am going to get along with you just fine, (F/N).” The two of you fell into an easy rhythm as you strolled to Levi’s office. Gunther stayed tight to heel with you both and gave a small explanation of the distance to Levi’s office from his team’s desks. It seemed the higher ups had felt Levi’s close proximity was distracting, read intimidating, to his staff and hindered their productivity. Eld commented that he had liked it more when Levi could just shout at them from his office. Now he had to send Eren to fetch the boss if the others got too unruly. 

As you entered the corner office belonging to Levi, you were pleased by how much the space felt like his. Taking a seat in the chair that normally held someone heavier, you felt you were at an odd hight in the comfy wheeled chair. Eld and Gunther left you to your exploration to get back to work but made sure you knew you could just come and ask for anything without reprimand, Levi had obviously wanted you comfortable while he worked.

You opened the drawer with the offered key and began inspection the library of CDs Levi had brought in to school the ones under his employ. What had to be over 40 cases filled the drawer to maximum occupancy. You looked over the titles with glee as you recognized many of the albums as ones you also owned. You didn’t pull any out as you couldn’t make any sense to the system Levi had used to organize them. It wasn’t alphabetical or by release date, there was some break up of genre but even that wasn’t a hard and fast rule. If it weren’t for the absolute order that you witnessed in every other aspect of Levi’s life you’d have suspected the disks were just absently stuffed in the drawer and Levi was messing with you by saying they were organized.

When Levi finally came to his office you only glanced up for a second, you were enamored with the fragments of Levi you had on display. Levi walked around the desk and rested his arm across the back of the chair, his added weight enough to make it sink a little lower. He leaned in, reading the names over your shoulder as your finger trailed over the jewel case you inspected. 

“See anything you want to borrow?” The question was one that you had hoped for. A few of the titles were ones you didn’t have or had lost to time. Not wanting to seem greedy you picked the one that had been at the top of your list. 

“I have a bad rip of this album in my library. If I could borrow it, that would be great! Once I return it maybe you’d lend me another? There is nearly a dozen of these I’d like to borrow for one reason or another.” You pulled the Bad Religion album free of its home and checked the disk to be sure it was inside. 

“Tch, goof. Just borrow all the ones you want now. Not like I don’t know where you live. If I urgently need any of them back I can just knock on your door. Take me all of 10 seconds.” He was letting a bit of the joy he had in having something he could offer you show through. Levi pulled a small bag from somewhere behind you and placed the selected case inside. With a languid gesture Levi encouraged you to select more from the drawer. In the end you had placed thirteen more albums in your bag of goodies. 

Levi was looking you over with a contented hum when Petra entered the office without knocking. “I fucking swear, just because we have this shitty literal open door policy doesn’t mean you brats can just wander in and out on a whim. What, Ral?” His tone was surprisingly harsh to your ears.

The young woman looked scalded by her superior’s tone but collected herself quickly and spoke with conviction. “I wanted to apologize for what I said, I was speaking out of turn when I-“

“I’m done talking about it. My personal life is none of your or anyone else’s business. I won’t have you making a scene now any more than I’d have let you in front of the others. I’m trying to be nice about this. Don’t make me be harsh, I hate making kind people cry.” There was such a gentleness in his words that you felt like maybe you should excuse yourself and let them talk. The earlier glares and the lingering touch in his yard made you wonder if they had some personal issues that needed discussion. With Levi saying you were the only person currently holding his interest, his social ineptitude might be making him accidentally lead this poor girl on. If that was the case then best the air get cleared before she messed up her relationship with Oluo.

“Levi, I don’t understand. Why can’t you see how much I-“

Slamming his hands down on his desk you and Petra both jumped. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. What part of ‘not interested’ is not getting into the hollow head of yours? You are nearly a fetus! I am interested in women, not girls. I can’t even hold a conversation with you. Our points of perspective are just too far apart. I am sorry if I made it seem I was interested by trying to expand your understanding of music but I was doing the same for Eren without him concluding I was trying to get in his pants. I even got drunk with him after I helped that idiot move a couch. All without issue. You should stick with the guy that is madly in love with you and leave me the fuck out of it. Over on this side of the fence is only crabgrass for shits sake. Don’t make a stupid mistake over some 80’s music.” Levi was glaring at the petite red head. 

Every aspect of him screamed malice. You couldn’t be sure what had finally made him use such harsh words to try and sober her to the situation but the look she was giving you made it pretty clear she was blaming you for it. “Don’t glare at (F/N). You are the one that wanted to have this conversation now, and It’s not like it’s any different now that it would have been in December under that damn mistletoe. How was walking away unclear? I wasn’t interested, I am not interested, I’m never going to be interested. You are wasting your time and hurting your boyfriend with this childish crush. If you don’t love Oluo then let him go, but don’t use me as your excuse.”

“Then WHY did you kiss me back?” The nearly screamed words were spat at him with such fury you wondered if the tears in her eyes were from sadness or hatred. “At the Christmas party, when you pulled me into the storage closet to talk, you kissed me back. If you weren’t interested then why did you do it?” The way she was looking at you when she spoke left no doubt she was saying it this way for your benefit. Definitely leaning toward tears of hatred.

The total confusion that was on Levi’s face gave complete transparency to his response. “I have never kissed you, Petra. I definitely didn’t ‘kiss you back’ at the office party. I bailed after less than twenty minutes because I hate the holidays. That awkward moment where I left you under the mistletoe was when I called it. Obviously, having not had anything to drink, I never got drunk enough to forget doing anything.” Levi had returned to his matter of fact monotone. 

Petra was looking at him with total horror. She well and truly believed Levi had been the person she had made-out with at the office party and you completely believed Levi in his flat refusal of his possible involvement in the event. 

Looking from one to the other you had a moment of sick inspiration on what might have happened. “Petra, When did Oluo start impersonating Levi?” You question had both of them turn to look at you in surprise. Levi’s eye’s widened as he caught on to your suspicion. 

“Oh fuck, you think Oluo is acting like that because his girlfriend was tonguing him while totally shit-faced and called him by my fucking name? Ral, you had better sort that shit and keep me the fuck out of it. I do not need to be any part of this.”

Petra was washed out and slack jawed as the situation sank in. “I… I’m sorry Levi. I shouldn’t have… I didn’t think… I should go.” Without waiting for acknowledgment she turned and speed walked out. The strange turn of events had you and Levi staring at the space Petra had a breath ago been filling. 

“Levi.”

“Yes, (F/N)?”

“You were right. Your office isn’t a sitcom. It’s a fucking soap opera.” The released tension from your comment had you both laughing. Levi was giving one of his rare full laughs that made your heart sing at the sound of it.

“Look (F/N), I really never-“

“Levi, you don’t owe me any explanations. It’s not like we’re dating, hell, we hadn’t even met yet back then. So if you are lying to shield me about what happened, fess up to Petra now. I don’t care if you kissed her, but you lie about it and I might never forgive you. I don’t keep friends that lie like that.”

Levi looked at you with an emotion you couldn’t name. It was only when he took you hand and placed it over his heart that you could identify it. Fear. He was afraid. “I will try my best to never do anything you won’t be able to forgive. I can’t promise to never lie to you, but I will never do it just to avoid a conflict. I swear I’ll never betray you. I’m not lying about the office party. I really left almost immediately after it started.” You started snickering and tried to cover your mouth with your free hand. “What part of what I just said was funny, brat?” Laughter was obviously not the expected reaction to his sincere troth.

“Sorry Levi, I just find it incredibly genuine and too damn funny that the fact that you will potentially lie to me is not one of the things you chose to lie to me about. I mean, it is the most honest answer I have ever gotten in my life. I almost feel naïve having implied people could never lie to one another.” You understood Levi’s need to clear the air between you. You had hoped to see a bit more of his life and now having had this moment you felt closer to the man. It wasn’t like a date  but it was such a deep truth to share that you were more connected for it. 

“Well, today has been surprisingly shitty for a Wednesday. You want to hit the post office then go to the store and see what other crap the Universe throws at us?” Levi was giving the lopsided smirk you had come to know as the closest thing he had to a smile.

 

**

 

Levi watched (F/N) carry her groceries and bag of his lent music into her flat. The errands had been uneventful once they finally got away from the office. Levi was putting away his haul when a chime alerted him to a new text. Slightly annoyed Levi went over to his charging device to see what Eren had texted him.

-Hey, Levi. Petra has been asking about the Christmas party. What should I say?-

-Idiot. Just tell her the truth as you know it.-

-She keeps asking when you left-

-Well tell her. Why the fuck are you texting me about it?-

-She keeps saying you must have come back. I’m really worried. Did something happen?-

-She seems to think something did. Tell her the truth. Give her facts so she can process what happened. Either she kissed her boyfriend or she sucked face with someone else. Either way I had gone before anyone was even buzzed. Why am I even having this fucking conversation with you?-

-Sorry Levi. Sounds like you already heard about what she’s asking me and I just wanted to be sure you knew. I shouldn’t have skirted around it.-

Levi glared at his phone. He was getting pissed off about how everyone seemed to think he had done something that night. He gave a moments thought to having a show and tell of his alibi and texting the shaggy tree that had kept him company that night. He didn’t need that side of his life getting aired at work, though. It was bad enough that (F/N) was now a known commodity to that bird brain Zoë. He didn’t need to muddy the waters.

-Is that it brat? I don’t need to walk in to a bunch of fucking rumors tomorrow.-

-Are you and (F/N) dating?-

-None of your fucking business you gossipy little shit-

-I just want to know if she is seeing anyone and I thought you might know. Just seemed polite to ask if you were.-

-She is out of your league kid. Leave her alone. We both know how you get, don’t drag her into your shit-

-Ha! If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black. You were just as bad at my age.-

-And in a decade, once you are my age, you could be with a woman like (F/N). Not yet though. I’ll break you if you hurt her-

-I’d never! Levi, I really like her, I wouldn’t ever hurt her. EVER!-

-Just keep your filthy hands off. Anything else Jaeger?-

-Nothing that can’t wait. See you tomorrow Boss.-

-See you then-

Levi looked at the phone and wondered if he shouldn’t text Petra and tell her exactly where he was that night so she would stop doubting his word. Tell her exactly what, who, he was doing instead of kissing her. Some part of it felt petty though, like he was rubbing her nose in his lack of interest. He had made the point that he wasn’t there and that she needed to figure out what happened because he didn’t know. Enough said. 

After dinner Levi went over to his window and looked over to the soft glow that told him (F/N) was still awake. Would she be disappointed to find out he had been periodically getting his itches scratched by that giant of a manager at the market? He had mentioned his ex-boyfriend without her freaking out on him. That was just a concept though and a real person, even just a casual screw like Mike, might be harder to accept. He didn’t like having things unsaid between them, but the truths of what he wanted to do with her, the facts of his past and the future it damned him to, he knew she could never accept them. No normal person could ever accept his secrets and he couldn’t blame them. 

Eren didn’t know even close to half of everything Levi had done when he was younger. Why Levi had shared any of his past with the boy still baffled him. Maybe it was that he saw a part of his own darkness in the kid. He had been a monster to his last lover and he hated how it had ended between them. Levi had truly been in love with the tall blonde. The death of Levi’s lighter half was something he just couldn’t forgive himself for. It had been an accident really. A horrible misunderstanding that got out of control and cost the life of his lover.

“I’m sorry Erwin. I’m so fucking sorry. I know I promised to stop after you. You can’t blame me for wanting her though, can you?” Levi was looking to the ground not the heavens as he whispered to his fallen lover. Levi had no pretense on where he had sent him.


	6. Coffee

You woke slightly groggy to the familiar sound of three tiny beggars purring in your ear. A month had passed since the phone call were Levi had confided his interest in you and yet still no plan for a date had been breached. This wasn’t a bad feeling, the anticipation, but shades of past rejections left a tiny voice whispering that it was never going to happen. Before the dark thought could be fed you shook yourself awake and got ready to enjoy your first Friday off since you started full time at the job. 

A velvety soft paw gently batted at your rousing face. “Ugh, stop, I’m up I’m up.” You knew if you didn’t climb from the bed now a pair of puffy white mittens would start digging under the covers to find loose fingers and toes, only to have sharp little teeth and fierce jaw strength bitting the discovered digits. The purring chorus was the gentle wake up call for food. To lay too long invited their creativity in motivating you.

Shaking the stupor from your limbs you wandered past your furry army’s food bowls. You noted the presence of enough food to mean they wouldn’t starve if you started coffee first. Rather than shoveling out another portion of their food you continued toward the kitchen. 

You opened the cupboard and pulled a filter free while reaching to the spot where the coffee beans lived. Empty. Figuring you had accidentally put the beans with the grinder instead of with the filters you opened the second cupboard to retrieve the pair of items. You had your grinder in hand but still no beans. Thinking on the situation you tried to recall where you put the last of the bag of coffee. Your eyes drifted to the waste bin and your stomach dropped. The emptied bag sat mockingly atop the rest of the discarded packagings. 

You opened all the cupboards sure that a new bag of coffee had to be present in there somewhere. As the efforts of your search slowly helped clear the cobwebs of sleep you realized the last time you had even bought coffee was over a month ago. You were out, no doubt about it. 

The coffee snob in you soured at the idea of just going to the near by corner store to buy the freeze dried instant garbage they had on offer. That stuff had to be created for times of natural disaster, what other purpose could there be for the bitter crystals? Had it been Monday instead of Friday you would have just toughed through and had tea the few mornings before the normal Wednesday food run. The daunting truth that you were working opening shifts the next four mornings to come meant coffee was a necessity. If not for your piece of mind than for the well being of those around you. Tea, even your beloved black teas, couldn’t get you ready for dealing with customers in the bright morning hours. 

You had never noticed him buying it before but maybe your neighbor had enough that you could borrow some just to replace it after the trip to the store? Grumpy as he was there was a chance he had never encountered the mood enhancing qualities of caffeine though. 

Checking with your housemate first, you texted her to see if she had any coffee to lend. The text reply of her having tons of green tea but trying to quit coffee had you wondering if there was a sinister plot to wean you from your preferred vice. Not accepting defeat you reached out to the next closest hope of caffeination.

-Hey Levi, you up?-

-of course idiot. I’m employed remember?-

-Yes -.- I remember. You have any coffee at your place I could have? I’ll get you more on Wednesday?-

-Brat  A: I’m at the office  B: I drink tea  C: Aren’t you late for work? Get your ass in gear-

-Stalker! You know my work schedule that well? I am not working today. I’m opening Monday instead.-

-You’re off today? What me to take you after I get off? We can swing by a cafe even, if you like-

-I’m too miserly to splurge on the cafe mark ups. The market is fine. You sure it’s not a bother?-

-Dummy. You are dimmer without your morning cup. I like seeing you, remember? I’m happy to have the excuse. I’m home around 6-

-Aren’t you normally home closer to 5 on Friday?-

-Who’s the stalker? You’re right though, see you around 5?-

-Sounds great!-

 

 

**

 

Levi rested his head on the cool wooden surface of his desk, trying to pull his mind away from planning out his actions after work. When the chime of his phone had alerted him to (F/N)’s text he had stopped working to check it immediately. He had worried the message would be a request for a ride in a last ditch effort to get to work on time. The idea of just altering his schedule to make it easy for him to take her had occurred the moment he heard her hours. He was coming in far earlier than needed and showing up on time would be no change to his wages since he was a salaried employee. A few of the higher ups had even voiced concerns of his over working and wanted him to reduce his daily hours now that work was threatening to get even busier.

‘It’s still too early to offer that to her. She will undoubtably get resistant to even the market runs at the offer. Little brat is so damn stubborn.’ Levi’s thoughts still weren’t leaving the woman in question despite his efforts. “You’re mine (F/N), damnit. Why won’t you let me take better care of you?” Levi had directed the question to his desk, unaware that one of the staff had entered without knocking. 

Eren cleared his throat softly and tried to prevent his boss from being chagrined by his overhearing the utterance. “Maybe you could try not sounding like a psycho and stop asking inanimate objects questions?” the brunette offered. 

“Stupid shitty open door policy. What do you want Jaeger?” The interruption while unwelcome did help remind Levi of his work obligations. 

“Just be glad it was me and not someone else that heard that. Oh, if it were Hange? The whole building would hear about your pining heart.”

“Jaeger. Do I need to explain to you what will happen if I hear so much as a whisper on my ‘pining heart’?”

With a flinch at the thought Eren answered swiftly. “No, sir.” Eren could not however dismiss the humorous thought of the other manager in their section having heard the outburst. “Not that a threat like that would have worked on Hange.”

“Shitty-glasses can go jump off the roof for all I care. The fact that I can’t fire Zoë does not mean that lunatic can get away with starting shit with me. I have other ways of leveling the field.” Levi was growling his words now. The interruption to his thoughts on wooing a certain lady was not something he enjoyed, even if he had been trying to get back to work himself. “What the hell do you need, Jaeger? I don’t do gossip sessions.”

“Oluo is distracting Gunther and Petra with an impersonation of you that is alarmingly spot on. Eld asked me to come grab you to scare the life out of him. Said to tell you we were having ‘a case of the Fridays’. Whatever that means.”

“Means Eld noticed the lot of you idiots are just fucking about instead of working since the week is almost over. Why Shadis felt he should torment me by making it my job to keep you crappy brats under control, I will never know.” 

“Maybe its because he thought we would all be too afraid of you risk provoking your wrath?”

“Someone should have told Oluo.” And with that Levi left to strike the fear of all that was Ackerman into the hearts of his staff. 

 

**

 

You hadn’t really had much planned for your day off, or rather you had planned on doing nothing much. Now you were going to be heading to the store with your sourpuss neighbor in a matter of hours. The Wednesday trips felt comfortable and you were a little surprised at how nervous you felt seeing him on an outing that promised to be nothing special. 

You had found yourself getting ready much too early and proceeded to try and distract yourself with any odd task only to flit away and do something else every few minutes. Antsy was an understatement. By the time 5 rolled around you were half way through an episode of a show you had started to watch three times already. 

The loud knock that echoed down to you was not entirely unexpected but you had lost track of the time enough to not be quite ready to just dash out the door. You went up and opened the door to see Levi in his normal three piece business suit, only he was missing his coat and tie. Under his vest he had the top few buttons undone giving him a more business casual look. 

“Sorry Levi, not quite ready. I only need to grab my coat and toss on my shoes then I’ll be good to go though. Want to come in to wait?” You offered up an apologetic smile and stepped aside to let him in.

“Sure why not. Today was a flaming trash heap of shit from my people. Taking a breather with some cats, that I am certain are smarter than my staff, will be nice.” Levi stepped in and walked down the steps to the front room where he gracefully fell onto the couch like he lived there. You were pleased to see him making himself so at home in the space that was temporally yours. 

“Rough day at work? I’d think Fridays would be easy days, what with the weekend stalling out all the new projects.” You snickered as the large white cat you named Bishop started to rub against Levi’s pristine pant leg. Obviously those clothes needed a coating of white cat before going on their way. 

Levi looked down at the culprit with morose humor. “Are you in on the plot to drive me insane fluff ball? Oi, (F/N) why do you have cats of such different colors? If you just had black cats like that little one, I wouldn’t need to borrow a lint brush. Also, lend me a damn lint brush.”

“Sure, but I’ll give it to you outside. There’s no point in doing it before hand, they just take it as a challenge to get more on you.” You looked over to see Levi in a staring contest with the one blue and one gold mismatched eyes of your least social cat. Seifer was normally the one to come investigate any goings on but the shy Bishop normally hid if he heard people enter. Surveying the room you saw all three cats had come out to inspect the new arrival on their couch. Very unusual.

“What was that you said about a hands to cats rule? I assume it means you think three cats is too many?” You could no longer see Levi as you had returned to your bedroom to grab a second lint brush for him. 

Ready to answer him upon returning you sputtered to a halt instead. In the brief moment you had left them all three cats had climbed up to lay on the couch around Levi. He was framed on all sides by cats. Robbin and Bishop were divvying up his lap and Seifer was on the back of the couch resting his chin on the man’s shoulder. You were dumb struck by how cute they looked. Levi had his eyes closed and was gently using his head to stroke the seal toned siamese headrest. 

“Ah, now I get it. Only as many cats as you can pet. So two hands means two cats. Why not call it ‘the two cat rule’ then?”

“The number of hands in the household. So the ratio goes up if I have roommates. One more person means four hands. Three cats is fine if I live in a space with another person. Hands to cats.”

“Hm. You thinking about getting a roommate? This place is pretty spacious but the layout won't take a second bed.”

“Bah, not if I can help it. I love living by myself. Sometimes I wonder if I might just be happier living alone with my cats than trying to get in a relationship or something.”

“Oh? So not really looking for a boyfriend?”

Feeling a little on the spot you shuffled your feet. You had already voiced you were interested in Levi but maybe he was taking his time because you weren’t that drawing for him. Would he feel relieved if you said you didn’t want a boyfriend?

“I don’t mean it like that. More just that I’m not one of those women that is looking at my watch and freaking out that I don’t have the whole husband, house with a white picket fence and a yard full of kids thing. Not sure I ever wanted that future and I am feeling fine without it. I have friends that are freaking out they haven’t settled down yet. Going out every night they can with a different guy like that? Pass. Ugh, I hate people way too much for that. I’m open to finding Mr. Right, I just don’t feel an urgency in filling up my days with Mr. RightNow.” 

“Thank fuck for that. I was worried I had missed my chance with you. Had you stolen out from under me by an extra set of pointy little ears. Which one forced you to break your rule?”

Blushing slightly you smiled at the blunt admittance from the crassest person you had ever met. “Bishop there with the odd-eyes. He was maybe a month old when some friends found him in a fast food joint’s parking lot. They didn’t know anything about kittens so they called me and asked if I would take him. Not the sort of emergency call I expected at 2am but still I’m glad I answered. They had tried to feed him lettuce with dressing on it.” You were covering your eyes in exasperation at the memory of how surprised they were when you explained cats shouldn’t eat greens with ranch dressing.

“Once I was sure he was healthy I intended to just find him a new home. But then Seifer started treating him like a little brother. Worse still he was totally smitten with Robbin, falling over and trying to play with her in the cutest ways. She hated them both at first but now as you can see she accepts Bishop. Seifer is still an asshole though, keeps batting at her tail until she freaks out and runs away. Typical younger brother behavior.” You smiled at the four characters that occupied your couch. They each had such a unique personality that you were sure you would never find the like of any of them again.

“So he snuck into their hearts and you just couldn’t split them up? Looking at them I can see they are loved. You kept him because he won you over too. Admit it, they conned you. Tiny freeloaders have it pretty sweet.” Through all of this Levi had not opened his eyes. He had stopped trying to pet the cats and was just relaxing into the chorus of rumbling purrs.

“You think so? I wish I had a whole huge house for them to roam in. I mean this place is great, its huge with the open floor plan and the sun room set up off the foyer gives them some great bird watching spots. They love those feeders you have. Did you always have them and I just never noticed?”

Levi didn’t speak for a moment. He had gone still and you wondered if the living blanket he was wrapped in hadn’t lulled him to sleep. When his eyes opened slowly there was a look of dread in his expression. With a sigh he shifted slightly, why your question made him so uncomfortable you couldn’t imagine. 

“I bought them last month. After I met your cats. Thought they might enjoy it if I encouraged a view.” The answer was so sweet you couldn’t understand why he seemed so ashamed of it. Did he expect you to scold him for doing something to make the furry army of cats next door happy?

“Thats so sweet of you, Levi. They won’t say it so I will. Thank you! If they were outdoors all the time I wouldn’t be thrilled at the feeders. I do not need Seifer giving me dead birds. But with the traffic on this street and the weak survival skills of two of these idiots I just couldn’t safely let them roam out there.”

“Two?” Levi seemed eager to move on from his gesture so you let it go, instead telling the story of how Seifer was also a street cat before he was yours. Just skin and bone begging for scraps in your old apartment complex. You hated rambling on about your cats like some crazy cat lady in training. You were sure Levi couldn’t possibly care.

“I bet I could trick you into letting me spend the whole night here if I kept asking about these three. You wouldn’t even notice and I could just relax the night away right here.” The wry smirk on Levi’s face told you he was not dying from cat overload, thank goodness. 

“You too tired to quick grab some coffee? If they have started you down the path of needing to nap I can suffer through on tea until Wednesday. Well, I will slightly suffer, my coworkers might die. There is a chance I could transform into a behemoth without steady supply of coffee. Just go on a rampage.”

“So you are too good for tea?” The challenging glare you were getting warned of infinite suffering should you callously insult his preferred beverage.

Pulling out a small tray you revealed you tea collection to his scrutiny. “I’m obviously not a tea snob, but I keep a nice enough stock. You probably have nicer stuff. I really only splurge on coffee. Well, I used to. This new job pays well enough, I just feel I have to save up for the next move. I love this place but I’m a grown woman, I shouldn’t be living paycheck to paycheck like this.”

“Don’t stress it. Life has a way of giving you what you need when you need it. If you learn how to find it, that is. You aren’t thinking of moving soon, I hope.”

You smiled at his attempt for nonchalance on your being further from him. You had noticed he didn’t like how you kept mentioning getting a bike and not needing the Wednesday trips anymore. You could tell he enjoyed your company but relying on him for these things chafed your pride. You had lived on your own for years and not needed to burden others. Levi was making efforts to show you weren’t a burden in his mind but that did nothing to keep you from feeling like one. The thought of eventually moving and leaving the little nest you were forming was unwelcome but a reality all the same.

“Not anytime soon. I really love it here. The bus to work is reliable and easy to get to. I have the best landlady. My neighbor is a bit of a sourpuss but I wouldn’t have him any other way. It’s a really great spot.”

“A bit of a sourpuss, hm? That is the nicest way anyone has every described my mood. A grumpier version of Napoleon is more common. Eren has referred to me as anger incarnate on three separate occasions. Won’t lie, I have to agree with that assessment. I’m an asshole and I’m not gonna be changing that any time soon. I am working on my temper, but it’s slow going. My rage can still get the better of me.”

“Think I caught a glimpse of it a few times.” You made the observation warmly. 

“Heh, yeah but you have a way of calming me. I’ve made some progress. Not too long ago, if the switch flipped, I was a demon. Figuratively, I mean. I don’t want that side of my life coming back. Want to go soon? I should stop stalling us.”

You weren’t sure if he was changing the subject or if he was trying to make sure you got to the store. Disappoint at soon completing the errand made you admit to yourself you kind of wanted to linger and talk the night away with him. The clockwork trips were nice but it was starting to feel like you wanted to see more of him. Most of the man’s life was rote though and creating a place in it was not a skill you excelled at.

Seeming to have wandered the same mental path Levi tutted and moved to stand. “ At this rate I won’t be able to take you to have dinner with me. Everything will be closed.” He wasn’t looking at you after the comment. He was giving you a moment to protest by attempting to clean the evidence of cat from his lap. When he finally risked peeking up at you, your face was flushed and smiling. He nodded and held out a hand. “Lint brush?” You handed him the requested item and followed him up the steps. He was clearing the remnants of cat from his clothes with ease, returning to a level of pristine you could never gain. Definitely some type of cleaning elf.

“So (F/N), anything special sound good to eat?” Levi asked as he started out the door.

You caught the overly salacious answer of ‘You?’ before it escaped you mouth. Looking at the back of the man you were about to eat with you found you had forgotten what types of food existed. When knocking an answer free of your brain failed to happen swiftly enough you tried to get a feel for what foods Levi liked. “Not sure, anything sound especially good or awful?”

“Not fast food. I eat the shit too often for lunch. I am fine with a burger joint just not one with a dollar menu. I want a real meal. Although if was still hungry I guess I could just-” Levi stopped speaking suddenly and coughed sharply. “Never mind.”

Suspecting the man had started to make a similarly lewd comment to the one you had squash moments earlier you felt comfortable poking the bear. “What were you gonna say? I’m curious.”

“I was about to say I could get something at the store. Like ice cream. But it would melt. Stupid.” The quick answer and curt delivery told you that was 100% not what he was about to say.

“Mhm. I totally believe you. Really though, what were you gonna say?” You were sure now about where he had accidentally allowed his comment to go. The man did not flirt much if his behavior with you up to now was any sign. Letting him voice a slightly unseemly comment now might bolster him to actually voice his interests in you a bit more. You didn’t intend to let him get vulgar on you but getting a bit more than what he was currently giving would be nice.

The man had stopped to lean against the passenger door and look at you with scrutiny. With a sigh he shielded his eyes and yielded to your prodding. “Fine. I was saying if I was still hungry I could just have you for dessert. Shit that is not only cliche but too forward of me. So fucking juvenile. I’m total crap at flirting, incase this didn’t illustrate that well enough for you.” The hand blocking his eyes smoothed out his perfect eyebrows in a gesture of self-frustration. When he finally looked up to see your reaction, you were covering you mouth to mute your giggles. 

“If it’s any consolation I had a similar thought, only I managed to keep it from escaping. We are such an awkward pair of kids. Try not to be so hard on yourself about it.” You offered up the admittance of your own dirty mind as an olive branch for pushing him to say something he obviously knew was cheesy.

The slight blush that dusted Levi’s cheeks was not the reaction you expected from the ravenette. When he turned on his heel and unlocked your door and briskly walk to the drivers side you decided to let the moment pass without picking on him again. 

The awkward joke that you wrestled free of Levi didn’t seem to make him feel any more confident at trying to flirt again but you weren’t put off. He was his normal grumpy self as he walked with you to grab coffee and some cinnamon rolls from the store. He was bored as he ever seemed at the decided eatery. It was a nice little local spot he liked and you had never tried, so he insisted he take you. The conversation was pleasant but rather shallow. Nothing had seemed to go wrong exactly but the night just felt off. Maybe you just had too high of hopes for the outing, not that you could think of a way to make it better. He was firm and surprisingly polite when he refused to let you pay for your meal. When the outing finally came to it’s anticlimactic end you were feeling every shade of boring. You were nervous it would make Levi lose interest in trying for a second date. Did this even count as a date?

Levi walked you to your door despite the fact he could see it from his own. He stopped with you at your doorstep and for the first time in a long while you felt uncomfortable in the silence between you. You couldn’t think of what to say. Placing your bag down you crossed your arms across your chest and felt a slight chill nip at you from the disappointing end of the night.

“Shit you’re shivering. How long have you been cold idiot? You should have said something.” His gruff words cut a little since you were feeling vulnerable from the failure of a night out. When his hands started rubbing up and down your arms you looked at him in surprise. You had figured the night was a train wreck and he would be eager to end it. Well, train wreck was an exaggeration but it still hadn’t gone like you hoped. You felt further away from him, not closer. “You know brat, every now and again you fall inside that lovely head of yours and leave me outside. It doesn’t bother me when you do, but you mind coming back out for me, just for a bit?” He moved his face to be squarely in you view, still holding you at your elbows so you couldn’t escape.

You tried to climb out of your head and back to the moment you were in, bringing into focus the man before you. He smiled as he seemed to be able to tell you were trying to meet his request. “There’s my girl. I can’t have you shutting up on me just yet. There has been one thing I have wanted to do since getting here this afternoon and I can’t seem to make myself leave until I do it.”

Tilting your head slightly in question Levi used the new angle to his advantage. He slide his hand into your loose hair and with delicate force brought you closer in. His lips feather soft pressed into yours and the hand in your hair lightened its hold once the kiss started. He was giving you space to pull away. Instead you wrapped your arms around his waist and pulled in closer. The kiss remained  chaste even though you hoped it would cascade into something much more primal. 

Levi pulled away first his hand coming to cup your cheek. He ran his thumb slowly along your bottom lip. He sighed and licked his lips dropping his face to look at his shuffling feet. He was still absently running his thumb along your lip when he looked back up into your face. The pleading you saw in his eyes was probably something akin to the look in your own. You didn’t want the distance to come crashing back in if you stepped away from this moment. 

“I should walk away now. I need to walk away now. I want to savor every second of this and if I don’t turn away now I am going to jump ahead as far as you’ll let me. You need to go inside and warm up. I need to go to make sure I don’t screw this up. Good night (F/N).” The hand not on your cheek rattled keys in the locked door behind you. He used the hand still connected to you to coax you back through your door and with a smirk he pulled his hand away. “That’s my good girl.” Levi turned and started across the yard to his own place. “Don’t forget to lock up. I’ll see you again soon.” He called it over his shoulder.

Watching until he had his door open and a parting wave was offered you took up your bag and closed up with the deadbolt thumping into place. You were speechless and totally aflutter from the unexpected end of the night. Feeling around in your pockets a moment of fear sparked as you missed your phone. When had you lost it? Before you could fly up the stairs to get Levi to let you search his car you saw your phone on the couch near where Levi had earlier been sitting. It must have been hidden under one of the cats so you left without it. 

Picking up the device you looked to see if you had missed any calls. You had missed eight texts. They were all from Levi? Opening them you scrolled to the first message.

-Did you forget your phone?-

-Yep. Idiot. Thought I saw it under the fluffy one. You can’t read these until you get home. Ha!-

-Shit You look so fucking cute right now looking at these stupid pastries.-

-Fuck I can’t believe I sent that.-

-Fuck it i really wanted to kiss you earlier-

-You look so beautiful right now. Is it wrong to want to spread you across this table and ravage you?-

-You can’t tell how much I want to kiss you right now, can you?-

-If I lose my nerve, know I wanted to.-

Your heart rate went back to racing as you read each messages. How you had missed him sending the little notes was a mystery and how to respond now that you read them was something your shell shocked mind couldn’t process. He was no Shakespeare but the notes were better than any sonnet. The device vibrated and a new message was added to the list.

-Hey you find your phone yet brat? Was it on the couch?-

-Yeah it was. Hey Levi…-

-What brat-

-I’m glad you didn’t lose your nerve

Goodnight, Levi-

-Goodnight (F/N), sweet dreams-


	7. Pride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Titan Prime is a media app that is sort of an amalgamation of Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu in this.

The morning after the impromptu date had been lovely as you woke for work. You had received a text from Levi wishing you a good morning and safe trip to work. But that was the end of it. You tossed him a text at lunch that didn’t garner a response and once you were home you saw his car was still gone. The same pattern happened Sunday on until Wednesday. You worried you would wake to a message of Levi telling you he had to cancel on the regular trip. The odd paranoia of his avoiding you was settling into your bones.

The Universe was undoubtably picking on you. Your job had finally started giving you plenty of hours and still left you the needed Wednesdays to shop with Levi. The hours all just happened to ruin any chance you had of seeing Levi until Wednesday. The weekend had never felt longer.

You had never really gone through a courting process that was so slow before. Normally once a first kiss happened and the fact that you were both interested in seeing where the connection would go led to back to back date nights, hand holding while watching TV, long rambling conversations via texts or over the phone, something. Levi was not having any of that though. The man had gone MIA aside from the morning texts. On Monday and Tuesday there was also a wishing of sweet dreams at night. If you let your romantic side explain the act, he was thinking of you first thing as he woke and of you just before he fell asleep. So poetic and yet the absence of any other communication had rilled up every insecurity you had. 

When Levi’s normal Wednesday-at-noon text failed to appear inviting you to join him on his outing, you looked at the morning’s message to be sure it didn’t magically change to containing a meeting time.

-Good morning Beautiful. Be seeing you soon.-

This wasn’t a sure invite to the clockwork trip but it wasn’t unreasonable to think it might be implied. Maybe he just expected that you knew the pattern by now and that the note meant everything was going forward as normal. When you looked out your window and saw no sign of Levi or his car at the normal 2:30 meet-up time you had a moment of sheer panic. You looked at your phone and willed it to ring, to chime with a message from anyone, just to let you know it was working. 

When your stomach growled from your nerves not letting you take in enough breakfast and skipping lunch it was a welcome reality check. Levi was the least socially adept person you had ever met but he was also absurdly possessed by proclivity. The absence of either a text or his car more than likely meant he was still at work and that the chaos that had him disrupt his routine was also keeping him from communicating with you. Four days of disjointed one sided communication was no reason to jump to any conclusions and Levi hadn’t skipped a Wednesday in months. It wasn’t being clingy or entitled to check in with him after the earlier text to verify if the regularly occurring run was delayed or if he couldn’t today. You tapped the screen and waited for the ring to signal the impending connection. Before even the first ring could be heard on your end of the phone a loud alarm blaring in your ear told you Levi had picked up immediately.

“Shitty-glasses don’t fucking touch anything! No, that will only spread the fucking-“ A loud whoosh could be heard on the other end of the line. “What did I just fucking say?! Hey sweetheart, I am so sorry. I am running late. So very fucking late. I am just going to beg now that you let me come over after this. It’s been a long shitty week and it’s not over yet. I really need to see you.”

Remembering the note in the break room you could guess what the hold up was. “I’m here when you get home Levi. Go keep your office from burning down.” You could make out what sounded like Eren saying they needed another fire extinguisher for Gunther.

“Give him this one! I’m so sorry, this fucking week, I’ll be there. Eventually. I might miss the post office hours but I’ll get you. We will still get to the market. I swear.”

“Just be careful. Try to let me know you’re in one piece. See you soon.”

“It sounds worse than it is. I’ll send you a picture. Fucking Shitty-glasses… Oi! Fuck, gotta go. Someone take that from-” The call ended before you could hear who needed to be disarmed.

Moments later a few picture messages loaded to your screen. All three picture had water falling down making it look like it was raining inside the office. Levi most likely was now angry, late, wet and dirty. No one was safe. The first image had Moblit sitting on a floored Hange. There was what looked to be gears or some other type of mechanical parts strewn around them, like a grandfather clock had exploded. The second was an action photo of Eren and Oluo pulling chairs out of the way while three streams of flame retardants, one originating from the camera holder, were calming the flames coming from a microwave and threatening to climb the walls. The last was a picture of the extinguished space with a focus on the item in the microwave. It looked to be some sort of plastic doll, now horribly melted, with many mechanical parts within it. What could the point of microwaving it have even been? More over what component was even flammable? 

-This is the stupidest fucking problem to consistently have. I should just stop ordering microwaves, damn fire hazards.-

-Not the one in my break room. I suspect operator error-

-I’m not even supposed to be here! I was scheduled to leave over an hour ago. That’s it. I’m requesting interns.  Working all fucking weekend and now this. It is ridiculous. See you in 2 hours, tops. gtg firefighters here-

A few minutes passed and another text made your phone jingle.

-(F/N) serious question: How bad is it that I am on a first name basis with the whole fire department?-

-Very. But reasonable, considering.-

-Shit. be home soon-

An hour and a half later there was a knock on your door. The sight before you was surprising but not in a bad way. For the first time you could recall seeing, Levi was in non business clothes. He was wearing a black hoody over a rich black teeshirt that still managed to amplified the blue in his normally silver eyes. His black jeans were adorned by a leather belt that had decorative metal accents all in a flat black. His assassin chic was finished off by black leather steel-toed boots with tell-tale yellow stitching. He was flat out gorgeous in a punk mercenary kind of way.     

Your face must have given away how impressed you were because he was smirking by the time you reached his eyes. Or maybe it was that you had taken a very long time to gawk at him before finally making eye contact. Probably both. Speechless, you stepped back to let him in and were quickly slammed against the wall. He had you pinned before you could even register his coming through the door. 

Your captured hands’ fingers interlaced with his while his lips battled for command of yours. Hungrily he ate every noise he could provoke from you. Forcing a leg between yours, he positioned you as he wanted you, allowing him use of splendid friction to elicit even more sounds to devour. It was obvious that he had been holding back the other night and that the hiatus to seeing you had been frustrating to him as well. With a soft growl and a bite to your bottom lip, Levi pulled back to look into your eyes.

“I needed that so badly, you don’t even know.” You were both breathing hard, eyes locked and bodies still pressed together. It was everything you could do to keep from asking him to keep going. ‘To hell with take it slow, don’t stop!’ Your mind was your enemy as you knew that wasn’t how this would go. “Sorry to get you hot and bothered only to rush you out the door but I want to try and catch the post office before it closes at 5.” He leaned in and nipped your bottom lip playfully. 

You had been ready to go, just in case there was a way to rush to get the package mailed today, but you suddenly wished you had any excuse to keep him from stopping. When Levi stepped back and offered you your bag and coat you hated your preparedness. You wanted to bask in his warmth not rush out into the bustling world.

“I’ll make it up to you. Promise.” Levi purred in your ear as he started pushing you from behind out the door. You tried to cool the desire he stirred in your loins with that comment but a nibble on your neck made your efforts futile. He was doing an awful job of encouraging you to let him take you away from your apparent. You had never played the wanton damsel for anyone before but this wildness taking over the collected businessman you normally had the company of was too enticing.

Giving in to his herding, you turned to walk backwards to properly speak to him. “Levi, you-“ Your attempt at conversation was halted as his mouth found yours again and he picked you up at the hips. His fluid movement had you wrapping your arms around his neck and ankles locked at his waist as if it were choreographed. Your back pressed into the passenger side of the car while he unlocked the door for you. When his hand captured your throat and forced your lips from his, you were startled by the protesting whimper you made. “You had fucking better. I’ve never been this worked up this fast before in my life.” Breathlessly you released him from your tangle of limbs, leaning on the car as you collected your trembling legs beneath you.

Your words earned a roguish smirk as he went around to the driver’s side. You clambered into the car when Levi started the engine conveying his fervency to leave. Levi placed the parcel on your lap to hold as he took the car out at a breakneck speed. The mastery this man held in every action he did assuaged any distress the just this side of legal pace might have caused had anyone else been driving. 

Skidding into a spot Levi jumped from the running car and flew up the steps to catch the Post Master just before the door could be locked. The package made it by the skin of the teeth for going out on time. You were glad that the errand had gone through and that the rushing hadn’t been in vain. Levi walked back to the car in his normal purposeful gate, tensions vanishing now that he had all the time in the world to complete the trip.

“What is the deal with those anyways? You’ve never missed a single Wednesday since I met you.” you asked once he was buckled back in the car.

“They are care packages to my friend Farlan. The two of us came up together. I ended up landing this incredibly lucrative job with Recon Corp but he has been struggling to make ends meet even with working three part-time jobs. The guy is the closest thing I have to family so I send him some things to keep him going. He’s like you in a way, he doesn’t accept help easily. If I sent two weeks worth at once he’d send it all back saying I was doing too much. Stubborn bastard. I get that he doesn’t want to take advantage of me, but how can he expect me to sit back and watch him suffer? Is it really so bad to let me try and take care of you in the ways I can?”

At first you thought the question was rhetorical but a sideways glance told you he was waiting on an answer. “Honestly, I guess it’s mostly a type of conceit. I know for me it’s hard to accept help with something I feel I should do on my own. There is also a part where I don’t want to burden others. I hate the idea of others going out of their way for me when I should be making it on my own. I chose this path knowing the hardship it might bring.” You looked at Levi, hoping to see something that would tell you he wasn’t angry with you or his friend for the stubborn tendency to fight against too much kindness.

“All the scumbags in this world taking anything they can from everyone they can and the two people I would do anything to see happy are refusing to let me give them half of what I could out of some shitty pride? Fucking stupid. You and Farlan need to stop fighting all on your own all the time and let those of us that care do more.” The way his knuckles had whitened from the intensity of his gripping the wheel told you this upset him more than you had ever realized. 

“Is Farlan really that bad off?” You couldn’t see how it was that you were still hindering his help of you. You had stopped talking about not taking him up on the weekly trips when you realized how much it meant to him to spend the time with you. What was it to silence your hubris for the person you were  slowly falling so hard for?

“It’s not about needing my help badly enough. It’s about letting me do something for someone I care about. I could easily do more than what I’ve been doing, I _want_ to do more than I’ve been doing. But I know if I so much as offer, you two would run for it and even start fighting me on what I am doing now. I could take you to work so easily and it would let me see you that little bit more but you won’t let me. I know it. I could take so much of the financial burden off Farlan that he could finally relax a little but he won’t accept one cent from me. He works to the bone seven days a week and has been doing so for what I suspecting is over a year now, not one shitty day off. The guy is gonna burn out and I have to just sit back and watch him.”

You looked at Levi in shock. You hadn’t realized how adamantly he wanted to do more for you. Hearing him lament his friend’s refusal of help humbled you for your instant rebellion at the thought of letting him give you a lift to work. The argument that your job was on the way to his and if he was on his way in you could accept the offer was sound. Except that wasn’t the way the schedule played out. He would be driving needlessly any day you weren’t opening and he would have to go in to work at a later hour meaning he would be late for work even on the days you opened. How could he expect you to let him take on that burden all to save you 30 extra minutes on a bus? The idea that he wanted to see you was sweet but impractical in the long run. You knew eventually the errand would start to bother him and once the irritation got to a boiling point he would resent you for taking so much from him. Especially if it got him in trouble at work, they could fire him for tardiness. He would end up hating you and you wouldn’t have even needed the hardship you placed on him. 

The charged silence held an argument that neither of you wanted but you both knew would happen now that it had taking it’s first breath. Before the market could be reached and the blooming fight swept under the rug to fester, Levi turned the car, starting down a road you didn’t recognize. The mood had changed so drastically you almost wanted to ask to be taken home. He wanted you to let him suffer for you and that was not going to happen. If the ride to the store was giving him the impression you couldn’t get around on your own, you would stop it. Even if it meant bringing you foot down and riding your bike to the store you weren’t going to let him encumber himself for you.

“You’re fucking doing it, aren’t you? Thinking of how you aren’t even going to let me take you to the store on Wednesdays now?” There was a defeated sort of wistfulness in Levi’s voice. The fact that he had basically read your mind and seen where the rabbit hole would lead before you had fallen down it was frustrating. You didn’t want him to suffer and you didn’t see a way to make that happen without changing what he wanted, changing him. You had no more way to do that than grant world peace, he was the only one that could change him.

“Oi, lovely, I need you to come out of your head and talk to me. I know you are bucking at the thought of me driving you but you can’t just veto it without telling me why. What’s so awful about it?”

The burn in your throat made your fingers tingle and the sting in your eyes made you want to roar in frustration. The idea of crying in anger was an molten hot pitch in your stomach. It wasn’t fair, the spot he was putting you in. “You’ll end up…” You stopped, you were speaking through clenched teeth. You could hardly understand yourself, you knew he wouldn’t be able to.

“Hm? I didn’t catch that sweetheart. What did you say?” He was using a tone reserved for talking people off ledges and giving up firearms. 

“If I let you do that, eventually you’ll hate me for it. I’ll be a burden and you’ll resent me and I can’t stand the idea of losing you over something I could have done on my own.” You could give that much truth to him. That it would chafe your pride was not a good enough argument and could be left out.

Levi turned into a car park, pulled into a spot and climbed out of the car before you could assess where you had arrived. Levi pulled open your door and waited as you reluctantly climbed out. He closed the door the second you were clear cutting off your option of retreating back into the sanctuary of the vehicle. Levi took your hand and pulled you away from the car, toward the foot traffic ridden pier and its salty scent. 

Levi was tugging you along weaving the pair of you through the crowd with ease. He moved through the clamoring masses with a liquid grace that distracted from the choking fear swelling in your chest and misting your eyes. Using the momentum of your keeping pace to him, Levi let you pass him, giving him the perfect angle to capture you in his arms and trap you between him and railing overlooking the ocean.

“You are getting ahead of yourself there, (F/N). I need to reduce the hours I am working or I’ll lose my mind. Shadis already told me I needed to do it before I met you, when business started picking up. But I never acted on it. I’m just a stubborn bastard, so I’ve been trying to keep running at the impossible pace even when I saw this perfect excuse to ease down. This weekend I finally hit the point where I wanted to punch Eld though. Eren I want to punch daily, Oluo sometimes hourly, but never Eld. He didn’t even do anything to set me off. I just really wanted to hit someone and he was the closest one to me. I’m not saying I will take you every time you work, I just want you to let me take you some of the time. I hate the idea of you standing alone at the bus stop at night risking any number of dangers when I could keep you safe. There are dangerous people out there, love. I want to see more of you but the job is threatening to reduce my free time, and this would let me have some little bit more of you. I won’t let it become a chore to either of us. Just let me do this for you.”

Levi was speaking into your ear as you both watched the sun setting into the horizon. Clouds splashed with sherbet colors were mirrored in the ocean’s glowing and twisting hues of blues and dusky grays to craft a beautiful mosaic. You leaned into the security embracing you and took a deep breath. 

You had to let the fear go and give Levi a chance to care for you. He wanted to do this so badly and a part of you understood he might even need the external excuse to do the right thing to take care of himself. Your foolish arrogance might get you hurt one of these days, insisting on standing at that dim isolated bus stop alone in the dead of night. Could you really argue the validity of exclusive self-reliance if you were on the wrong side of an assault? Could you really look him in the eye and say his seeing you hurt when he could have prevented it was necessary? Why not let him do this for you? Stubborn iron-clad pride was the only reason you could come up with and if you had ever met someone worth swallowing that for, it was the man kissing your neck as you watched the fiery sun get eaten by the silvery sea. 

You worried a part of you might drown in the current that was Levi’s will. Everything was so new between you two but this little thing was something you could let him do to provide for you. It’s not like you were giving up your freedom or self. You smiled as you saw the clever manipulation of making it about you helping him out. He had called that you would run from the idea and he had been right. Now he was flexing his skill at trickery and had you agreeing to the offer for his benefit when you would have refused it for yourself. 

“You clever, manipulative, sexy bastard.” You growled with a sigh.

“That mean you’ll let me?” The hope in his voice made it impossible to go back now. 

“Fine, but only if it matches your going to or from work or I’m working the late shift. You don’t need to drive around on your off days when there are plenty of people at the stop with me.”

“Tch, fine. I’ll quit while I’m ahead, but don’t think this is me giving up.”

“Hmph, that’s my line.” You nuzzled a little more into his hold, enjoying the sense of safety that being enveloped by him could give.

Once the last of the color sank into the swelling gray and most of the crowd had left for warmer avenues you started on the return to the car. Levi held your hand gently playing his fingers along your knuckles and humming softly. You couldn’t make out what he was humming but you knew it was a happy tune. The moment was movie magic perfect. 

That was until the cold chill of someone watching you trailed down your spine. Looking over your shoulder for the source of your instinctive alarm, you saw an elderly man with a well groomed mustache staring at you. He gave a warm smile as you looked back at him, then he took a long swig from a flask he pulled from an inner coat pocket. You relaxed at it just being some oleaginous old man and not worth caring about. Levi had turned to look at what had caught your attention. He was giving an especially lethal glare to the old man. Looking back you expected the drunkard to have looked away, but he hadn’t. There was a calm and challenging look in his piercing eyes now locked with Levi’s. 

“Levi, let’s go. It’s getting late and we still need to go shopping.”

“Right.” Levi answered without releasing his gaze from the man. He shook himself and looked at you, tromping down what ever emotions had been rising to the surface. “Right, sweetheart, we should go. Want to get carry out and watch a movie tonight? I’m feeling too lazy to cook and want to lay around with you and your cats. There is this really quick and really good Thai place by the market. We go in, place our order and it’ll be ready by the time we are done shopping.” Levi had shifted his hold on you to stand between you and the creep that had been watching you.

“Sounds great. I could really go for some curry.”

“What type of movies do you like? Please say you won’t force my to watch anything involving sparkly vampires.”

“Hey, those movies weren’t that bad if you happened to ever be a teenage girl that likes vampires. But I prefer Kiefer Sutherland from Lost Boys. That is what a sexy vampire is. I’m a more a fan of horror and suspense films but I enjoy action and comedies too.”

“Not gonna drag me to some tear jerking romantic flick or force me to sit through one of those boring-as-shit-drying victorian period pieces?”

“Not really my thing unless there are zombies. Let’s see. What else? I’m not put off in the least by subtitles but for some reason classic black and white films make me sleepy. I fell asleep watching Arsenic and Old Lace, twice.”

“Hm. Weird. Guess it could help you get over a bought of insomnia though.”

You had to give a soft snicker to that. “Actually that was how I finally ended up seeing the whole film. When I can’t sleep, I really can’t sleep.”

“Well we can keep each other company then. Insomnia and I are old friends. What do you want to watch tonight?”

“Something spooky? Doesn’t need to be gory, if you can’t handle that kind of thing while eating.”

“Slaughter flicks don’t get to me. Even while eating. Unless they are eating that corn syrup fake-blood shit. I’m sure it tastes awful and gets everywhere. I’ve got Hellraiser at my place if you want a classic. Or we can search your Titan Prime if you want something you haven’t seen.”

“Let’s see if anything strikes a fancy, if not we can do Hellraiser.” Reaching the car you risked a glance over your shoulder to see if the old man had followed to watch you further. “Oh do you have Hellraiser: Hellbound? I like the second one better.” You slipped into the car, still alert even though you couldn’t see the smarmy old man anymore.

“Yeah, I do. You sure you don’t mind the watching demons tear apart people while we eat dinner?” Levi’s nonchalance was belied by his alert eyes watching to be sure you were safely in the car before he got in.

“I don’t mind demons for dinner. But they are called Cenobites, not demons.”

Levi’s eyes flashed in pleasure as he gave you a wry smirk and started the car. “Nerd.”


	8. Enter the Interns

It had been three weeks since Levi tricked you into letting him give you rides to work.  He was working longer hours most of the week, save Wednesday still being a short day. He had started going in later which made dropping you off easy on the mornings you opened. You had been able to get him to ease up a little on the weekends and let you bus in. This would let him ‘sleep in’ until 9 or so, although he would often insist on picking you up and taking you out to dinner. The night shifts during the week had you busing in while he was still at work and him picking you up in the dusky hours. 

On more than a few occasions you had fallen asleep in the car on the late ride home. You would relax into the safety of being in Levi’s care only to wake up to the morning sun, in your bed, your keys on the floor by the mail slot. If you stayed awake you would sometimes just linger, talking in the car, not getting out as it would conclude the night and force a parting. 

Levi had found the will power to slow the pace of the courtship back down and the kisses of greeting and parting were less savage, most of the time. At least once a week Levi would have a disaster occur at the office and show up at your door to swallow down as much of your passion as he could without taking any clothes off. You half respected his wanting to savor the early stages of exploring each other. The other half wanted to jump his bones and never look back. Every lingering touch whispered of the pleasure he could deliver if he just let that last wall go down.

You rolled out of bed and looked wistfully at the covers that were only disturbed on your side. Secretly you hoped that one of these days you would wake to seeing him asleep next to you in bed. That one night he would just curl up next to you for a second only to spend the night pressed along side you. Maybe it would happen just like that someday, but not last night. You had once again fallen asleep to the soothing sound of Levi as he informed you of his obligations the following day at work. It was Monday and that meant you would be hearing about the freshly arrived interns periodically as you enjoyed your day off.

 

**

 

Levi muttered profanities under his breath as he adjusted his tie once again. He hadn’t meant to sleep over at (F/N)’s for the fourth time and the act of creeping out before she woke left him feeling like a criminal. He had carried her into her place and gotten her in bed with ease. Like the few times before, he had allowed himself the trespass of laying down on the covers beside her and watched her sleep for just a moment. A slow blink became a very long blink and the next thing he knew he was being roused by a fluffy white cat biting the hand he had draped over (F/N). If he just climbed under the covers with her Levi would have been safe from the puffy monster but he wouldn’t let himself take advantage of her trust like that. Not yet at least, but his resolve was waning more and more as he woke up beside her.

He had lost track of time since he kept his alarm off to keep from waking (F/N). The rush to get to work on time had forced him to skip breakfast and to dress without review. His tie didn’t quite match either his coat or his slacks and those were equally just slightly mismatched. He kept his jacket over his arm to keep the error from easy observation. Levi gave a sigh of relief as he looked at his salvation on his coat hanger in his office. He kept a supply of clothing stored in water proof covers now that he had given up on breaking a certain mad inventor of habitually causing havoc that all too often triggered the sprinklers. 

Levi finished buttoning up the rich navy vest that made his tie and slacks cease to clash and abandoned his jacket to the coat hanger. He now looked the part of manager for the new employees and would only need to worry about Eld accusing him of having had something delay him. The top knot adorned blonde appeared in the doorway as if conjured by Levi’s thoughts. 

“Here ya go boss. Tea, a home made english muffin with bacon and scrambled egg sandwich, and a fresh apple. The Missus was happy to feed us. Should I ask what had you running late or is it ‘none of my shitty business’?” 

Despite consistently being awake in the morning hours, Levi’s insomnia caused early bird behavior failed to elicit any good mood with the dawn’s glow. “It’s too early in the morning for you to be parroting Oluo’s mimicry of me. That is, if you intend to stay on my good side, Eld.” Levi let his normal deadpan tone drawl a little to add to the ‘freshly woken’ lie he was attempting to sell. Truth was he had actually woken on time and simply kept watching the sweetly slumbering form beside him for too long. He knew it was dangerous letting himself be around her when he was like that. If his old habits started to rear their ugly head, he knew he couldn’t trust she would be safe.

“Sorry.” Eld held up his hands in surrender. “Just wanted to be sure the car wasn’t giving you trouble. Gunther is looking for a new project since he finished fixing up his Grandfather’s clunker. Have you noticed how much harder he works when he has a project car? It’s enough to make me want to bust up my car to give him something to do. I’d do it if MK weren’t on the verge of popping.” Levi marveled at the excited glow in the expecting father’s eyes. Some men would have been letting worries of the new responsibilities weigh on them or stressing out about the demands of the job compounding with the duties of a parenting. Mary Kathryn and Eld seemed to have knocked all the jitters loose earlier and now were just excited to be getting to the good part: the tiny person joining their family. Levi wasn’t jealous of them by any means but he was happy for them.

“Just point Zoë at Jaeger’s car. The kid has money to burn and it will keep Shitty-glasses outside and away from my car.” Eld seemed to be comparing the gains to the fire hazards and shook his head in dismissal once the tally was done. 

“The chances of flaming shrapnel damaging our cars is too high. It might be a good direction to go in though.” Eld used a good humored grin to mask that he was contemplating other means of destroying Eren’s car for the greater good.  “When are the new bloods getting in?”

Levi tried to relax his immediately clenched jaw. The only thing he hated about getting interns to help with the swelling workload was the ‘interacting with interns’ part. They needed the help and the division of labor made interns a great option but he still had to talk with the louts and that normally ended badly. “In about an hour. Enough time for me to eat and lock Zoë in a closet.”

“I wonder how Moblit finds the energy? I have already concluded Hange is a robot. It’s the only thing that makes sense. But what’s his secret?”

“Caffeine and sheer terror driven adrenalin, I assume. That or cocaine. I wouldn’t blame him.” Levi sat down and started in on the expertly prepared meal. 

Eld’s wife was a professional chef and taking maternity leave had her pouring all her stifled passion into any meal she made. The food on presentation was artistry worthy of pallets far more discerning than theirs. Levi knew good food when he ate it, but he wasn’t picky. Levi would have enjoyed a burnt toaster waffle thrown on a napkin if (F/N) had made it. Somehow everything she touched tasted better to him. Maybe because the essence of her would bleed to the things she touched and enhance them, that was Levi’s guess at least. Eld sat down across the desk from Levi and opened his own hand crafted offering. The love and care was evident in every aspect of their meals.

A light chime from Levi’s phone interrupted the companionable silence of the men as they ate. Had it been any of the other nosy brats under Levi’s authority he would have ignored the sound and waited until he was alone. Eld on the other hand could be trusted not to mention the way Levi’s eyes brightened at the sound or how swiftly he snatched up his phone to read her message. 

He read back his own message first, checking that it was without typos now that he wasn’t rushing.

-Good morning Beautiful. I’m being bombarded with stupidity today so any texts to help me keep my composure might save lives.-

Levi pondered wether he would ever tell her he was looking at her as he sent the missive? Was there a way to admit it without scaring her? No, this would probably be one of the many secrets he would have to keep from her. 

-Good morning Levi. Just try to remember if you kill any of them it just means you need to start over with a new one. Also it will make a mess. Two very sound reasons to abstain from murder-

-That’s only one very good reason. I can just make Eren mop. Can’t let his hands idle.-

Levi relaxed a little into the peaceful mood that (F/N) put him in. Eld was watching Levi’s expression soften from the cover of his breakfast sandwich, glad his boss had found someone that could handle his caustic temperament. Once the rest of the office arrived it would be less obvious how (F/N) was keeping their Napoleonic leader from raining down wrath on them. Eld was glad to be allowed enough into the inner circle to get to see how happy Levi was with her.

A loud crash echoed back to them from the front of the building. Neither Levi nor Eld so much as batted an eye. Levi glanced over to his phone and read the message from Moblit explaining that no structural damage had occurred, that nothing was on fire, and that he was already moving the experiment to the offices on the other side of the conference rooms. Levi wondered only briefly over wether or not to be concerned over the need to use so many rooms as buffer from the impending havoc. Moblit was good at gauging how large the explosions were at this stage, better not to question it.

“Should I check to be sure Marco is in one piece, boss?” Marco was the first in most days and as an actual morning person he was normally froggy enough to evade the occasional morning demolition. 

“No, looks like it was outside. The brat should be fine. We should finish up, the others will be here any second and we need to discus the proper tasks to give the interns. They are not to just be active response paper weights.” 

“Aye aye, Captain.” Eld gave a mock salute from his seat as he went to finish up his food.

Levi rolled his eyes and gave a long appraising look to his phone. If he kept it on him he wouldn’t risk missing any of the messages (F/N) might send, but the new hires might get the wrong impression and think they can just muck about on their phones all day just because the boss was seen with one. Stupid issue to have but one he was aware of all the same. Guessing Levi’s dilemma Eld offered up his ten cents.

“Look boss, the new kids are going to need to get scolded at least once for their phone habits regardless. Happens every time. Just put it on a low volume and add emphasis to everyone needing to call you or Moblit if Hange is seen in the break room. We all want you happy, makes it easier on us. That said, your mood gets even worse if we keep you from catching anything she sends you. Not to mention that ficus might have been salvageable had Eren not been so noisy and made you miss Jean’s call.” Eld shuddered under the warning glare Levi shot him, he knew better than to directly acknowledge what was the cause of Levi’s improved mood.

Feeling the taboo had been adequately chided Levi looked back to the device and nodded. “You aren’t wrong. Still just having this on my person seems to encourage the greenhorns to stay glued to theirs.” With a growled sigh Levi placed the expensive bobble in his vest pocket as if it were a pocket watch. “Fuck it. By the end of the day they should know better than to undervalue a swift response to Shitty-glasses.”

 

**

 

You were folding laundry when your phone erupted with a half dozen texts. Looking at the messages you were confused by only one of them coming in from a number you had programed into your phone. You opened the one from Levi first, sensing that it might have some relevance to your bombardment. 

-I am so sorry. Seems one of these little shits noticed my pass code and grabbed your number for Eren. If the scumbag bothers you let me know. I’ll put him in check-

Oh no. It didn’t bother you that Eren would have your number so much as the fact that Eren probably didn’t immediately text you with five different phones. The multiple numbers meant Levi was unaware of the speed of the spread of your personal information. 

-Hey (F/N) it’s Hange! Sorry to get your number without permission but Shorty is being so stingy with you. Please do not tell Eren I’ve hacked his phone. It is the only way I can keep tabs on Shorty’s movements.-

Okay. That could be worse. Although being informed of the use of Eren to track Levi seemed to generate more questions than you really wanted answers to.

-Hi (F/N)! This is Eren! I hope you don’t mind I got your number from Levi. I really enjoyed seeing you the other day and wondered if maybe we couldn’t hang out some time? I don’t have many friends and you seem very nice.-

‘Aw, so sweet.’ Eren could be such a cutie that you were already forgiving him his theft. 

-Hey (F/N). This is Eld Gin, from Levi’s office. I’m not sure how many of these little rats got your number but I thought I’d give you a point of contact so you have more than one way of dealing with the pests. If you don’t want Levi handling them, just ask and I’ll be gentler in reigning them in. I’m looking at Eren when I type that.-

Eld having your number was perfectly fine. He had felt like a kindred spirit and his offer was obviously well meaning.

-Hello (F/N). My name is Armin and while we have never met I felt I owed you an apology. My best friend is Eren Jaeger and he asked if I could get your number for him from Mr. Ackerman’s phone. The way he said it made it sound like he had just lost your number so I saw no harm in doing it. Only after the others told me did I learn of my error. I’m so sorry if this has put you in a difficult position. If you need me to get the number off Eren’s phone just let me know. I can do that.-

Some aspect of the message made you want to met this Armin. He sounded like a sweet kid and yet something about the message had you convinced he shouldn’t be taken lightly. Opening the final message you were a little surprised to get a message from her but maybe it was a good sign?

-Hi ya (F/N), It’s Petra. Sorry about the other day. I was way out of line doing that in front of you. Not sure Levi would mention or that you would feel you could ask but it was Oluo. That jerk had been the one that I kissed in the supply closet. I hoped to talk with you about it some time but Levi is pretty heavily trying to keep Hange from getting ahold of you so we are all blacklisted. Maybe lunch one of these days?-

Taking that the worst had already happened with Hange getting you number, you decided to answer the messages without telling anyone to ‘lose’ your number. You thanked Armin for his offer and forgave him the mistake. Eld got a warm thank you and a promise to reach out if the kids got out of hand. You told Petra that lunch would be fun and that you were glad it was Oluo, not someone she hadn’t known. You weren’t sure how to react to Hange so you simply texted back ‘My lips are sealed’ and moved on. Eren had errand a bit of thought with his flimflamming his friend into stealing your number. The kid seemed a bit like you and Levi in that he lacked a social understanding normally possessed by others. Then there was the source of your number. It was kind of Levi to be trying to keep his coworkers from bothering you, but unnecessary. Certainly the threat of being hounded by Hange wasn’t lost on you but that was no reason to run interference with Petra or Eren.

After a few minutes of thinking on it you texted Eren.

-Hi there Eren. You do realize I know how you went about getting my number right? Tsk tsk. Not very nice tricking your friend like that. It’s fine that you have my number though. I haven’t made many friends yet and you seem really sweet so it would be fun hanging out sometimes!-

You had only just opened a pane to text Levi back when a message from him appeared. 

-What did that brat say to you? He is acting weird. Don’t tell me I need to take his phone away already-

You chuckled softly at the tenacity of your fierce protector from the peril of minor pestering via texts from his employee.

-He is fine Levi. He just wants to make friends and I could use more people to interact with. All of my coworkers are idiots and I am not making tons of friends here in my flat-

-I should hope you aren’t making too many new friends in your flat. Are they real friends, like that I can see? I won’t begrudge you a Snuffaluffagus. But Eren? Really? I’ve hung out with the kid a few times. He is really weird.-

-That is definition Kettle calling Pot black, buddy-

-Not the point-

-I know. You aren’t jealous are you? lol-

-Maybe-

You just stared at the answer and knew he wasn’t totally joking. You weren’t really interested in Eren. Sure he was cute and sweet in a little brother kind of way but it was sort of like what Levi had said to Petra. You were interested in men, not boys. Being friends with someone so much younger wasn’t anything but dating someone who you suspected couldn’t buy alcohol on his own was a big ‘nope’. It only then hit you that Levi might be very insecure about keeping you. He had been keeping all of his people away from you, not just Eren. Maybe he worried that you would abandon him the second anyone a little less… Levi… came along. You couldn’t picture wanting anyone over Levi but his tendencies told you he was used to people doing just that.

You had to say something to the truth staring back at you from your phone screen. How to tell him that you understood, that you weren’t going anywhere, that he didn’t need to worry? All without getting too sappy, it was just a little text conversation after all. ‘Nothing important has ever been said with the thumbs.’ your mind paraphrased.

-Well you don’t need to be. No one can hold a candle to you. Let alone some brat. Kid’s got no chance. I just want to make more friends. Snuffy doesn’t laugh at any of my jokes. Also if you leave me with only the cats to talk to for too long I might start just meowing.-

-That could be cute-

-Meow?-

-… I’ve opened a flood gate haven’t I?-

-Meow.-

-Shit-

You chuckled happily at the receipt of your message. Levi didn’t intentionally let you see behind his mask often and touching so close to a nerve was a little harrowing. To have him not offer rebuke was the best reaction you could hope for.

 

**

 

Armin sat back in his chair and smiled as his friend checked his phone for the hundred and first time to covertly read the message he had received from Mr. Ackerman’s neighbor. Armin knew how hard it was for Eren to make friends and this was the first time in a long time he had reached out to anyone with a positive outcome. That she was willing to overlook Eren’s method of getting her number boded well for her being able to deal with the quirks of the young man. ‘Awkward’ was not even close to encompassing Eren’s social ineptitude. 

A sudden loud rumble shook the walls and Armin jumped up from his seat to look for any encroaching danger. Looking to the others in his section he saw that no one was even looking up from their stations save the other interns.

“Get back to work, Male Krista. You’ll learn to tell how far away the explosions are soon enough.” Despite the comment obviously being for him, Armin was concerned over the uninterrupted glare Mr. Ackerman was giving Eren. The short manager was leaning against the wall and watching Eren with a look that was more serial killer than annoyed manager.

“His name is-“ Krista was chiming in to try and settle the grumpiest man he had ever met.

“I know his name, Female Armin. I just don’t care to use it. Less talking, more typing. Oi. Where is that little potato headed one? Been ten minutes since I got here and he still isn’t at his station. He had better be taking one hell of a shit.”

Armin met Krista’s eye and they shared one of those moments. They both had no idea how to deal with this workplace. There were qualities that made it feel more war zone than business, like the explosions. The whole building was ran with a bit of a wild west mentality, complete with saloon slug outs. Eren had warned Armin of the occasional brawls he got in with one of the other workers, Jean. How a workplace could have so much chaos without the HR department going nuts was beyond him. Actually, was there an HR department?

Just then a smokey sort of fire pit smell caught Armin’s attention as it started creeping closer. Mr. Ackerman stood up straight having caught the same wind. When Reiner rounded the corner, the source of the odor was revealed. His white button up shirt was missing a sleeve and had dark singes where the sleeve had originally connected to the rest of the cloth.

“Shit. You alright there? Any burns? We have ointment for that if they’re minor enough. If you need a doctor there is an urgent care by… I know where there are a lot of urgent cares, just let me know. I’ll sort which to get you to.” The mood shift to protective-but-still-a-hardass gave Armin all the information he needed to understand that their manager cared and that if they needed anything he was there for them. He was just also Grumpy the Dwarf with an undercut.

“I’m fine. My shirt was the only casualty. You need a warning label for that lunatic. Not sure how to attach it but there should be one. Staple gun maybe.” The broad blonde sat down at his station without apparent concern to what Armin would personally have been freaking out about. Where was the rest of the shirt? Shouldn’t he change into a whole shirt for the rest of the day? Was the apparent fire under control? Why was no one worrying over any of this?

“Never bring an ‘anything gun’ here. We will all surely die. I have a tattoo artist friend brain storming some intuitive facial tattoos.” Mr. Ackerman was looking at Reiner with a rather disgusted face, despite his earlier concern. “Look, brat. I need you to put on a whole shirt or just go topless. You are shedding bits of ash. Everywhere. Plus the lack of symmetry is bothering my OCD.”

“Hmph, I’ll get a teeshirt from my car. Hey, where did the Avatar go? He wasn’t in the break room with me.”

“Tch, Shitty-glasses already stole one of my interns? This won’t go unanswered.” As the building storm went off in the direction Reiner had come from. Armin felt a dread for the showdown at high noon between Mr. Ackerman and Dr. Zoë that might ensue. “Oi! Moblit! Where is Shitty-glasses and or my damn intern?” The booming voice used for the inquiry carried through the whole space, undoubtably reaching the intended ear.

“Hey, Armin, Krista, just to warn you, never let Hange ‘barrow’ you. The boss will not be happy about it. Also there is a sizable amount of personal risk. Best to just say no.” The seeming deputy to Mr. Ackerman’s sherif offered. As a seasoned member of the staff Mr. Gin had already given them quite a few helpful pointers. This was bound to be similarly good advice. 

No sooner had Mount Ackerman gone off to rain fire down onto Dr. Zoë, then Sasha was at the station of Miss Ral again. The two had made fast friends over the lunch break and now the bright smiled red head was giving more pointers to her new underling. If there weren’t so many technical terms being tossed around Armin might have thought they were just gossiping. There was way more giggling going on than he would have expected discussing company algorithms. Not that he hadn’t giggled while discussing algorithms before, but Sasha didn’t seem the type.

For the one hundred and second time Eren checked his phone and blushed happily at the text he had. Armin smiled softly at his friend. He wasn’t sure this young woman was really even Eren’s type for the long run but it was nice seeing him notice another living person. Armin didn’t totally understand what made his best friend latch on to the people he did but once his sights were locked it just had to play its self out. Nothing Armin could say could dissuade him. 

(F/N) had seemed fine with Eren having her number and the text she had sent was kind, even after the trespass made. Armin just hoped that this wasn’t going to be another one of those incidents were he had to explain to Eren that he was acting out of accord with appropriate attention to give for the respective relationship. The last time had nearly ended with a restraining order. Eren was excessively sweet and wanted to find someone to dote on, and the last girl hadn’t been open to the idea, at all. 

Armin had thought all the attention Eren was trying to pay her was adorable but she hadn’t. Eren had wanted to surprise her with gifts and she had been very unhappily surprised. She didn’t like that he would just show up and give her a bouquet of her favorite flowers or offer to take her out to her favorite restaurant. Armin couldn’t totally understand why it had bothered her so much but when she ask for help explaining to Eren that he had to stop, he didn’t hesitate in helping her. She had been really upset and worried that Eren wouldn’t take it well. 

After she broke up with Eren, with Armin there as support to them both, the blond had taken his forlorn friend out drinking. The two of them had gotten totally smashed. Eren had confided that he had been in love with his now ex. It was cute that the budding romance had meant so much to the more socially obtuse of them. A little quick on the draw for Armin’s taste but some people just fell hard and fast while others didn’t fall at all. Eren was due for some good luck. Maybe (F/N) would be it.

 

**

 

The day was coming to a close and the fire department had left already. As first days go it wasn’t the absolute worst. He hadn’t murdered Jaeger, Hange had only slightly singed one of the interns, all of the projects were back on schedule and (F/N) had been sending cute little messages to keep his mood light. As Levi packed up the last of his reports that were coming home with him his phone chimed.

-How was the first day with the interns? Did Eren need to mop? Hope you didn’t kill Armin, he seems nice, in a fluffy puppy sort of way.-

-No, that one is a pleasure. Very polite, easily intimidated, perfect. Plus he manages Jaeger well. Keeps the brat on task way better than even Eld.-

-See? The day went really well! How many did you get any ways?-

-5. Armin and this other kid Krista could be twins, they are so similar. We got Sasha who was dubbed ‘The Potato Maven’ by another new idiot, Connie. I’m starting a pool on which closet we find those two in and when. Lastly Reiner is the lummox that Zoë set on fire. He took it well, all things considered.-

-What sort of insurance does your company even have to cover this madness?-

-One that I am sure is looking to get Shitty-glasses categorized as some sort of natural disaster.-

-Reasonable-

-You know what I should request next time?-

-What’s that Levi?-

-Fireproof Interns-

-facepalm meow-

-Idiot-

Levi smirked at his phone. She was a goofball but she was his goofball, it was just a matter of time until she knew it.


	9. Titans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This gets kinda steamy. Heads up, might be NSFW.

You were running. The inky black of the starless sky was contrasted against the deeper darkness of the tree branches by the light of the full moon. The shadowed trees were skyscrapers, going up what had to be near 50 meters. There was darkness everywhere and the trees were moving. No, not the trees, it was something else. Something huge among trees and it was after you. The rumble of it running to catch you was thunderous. 

You dodged between some closely growing trees. As the mountainous thing ran past, you moved as quietly as you could, doubling back to were you came from. You used the large trees and thick undergrowth as cover. The branches kept pulling at your clothing and you were sure you would find dozens of scratches from it after the fact.

You saw a wall ahead of you, stretching up to the sky, as high as the forest you exited. Running harder than your protesting muscles wanted, you sprinted full speed for the large barrier that would shield you from the monster behind you. You were getting close enough now that you could see people on the wall. They seemed to be using harnesses with retractable cabling to scale the sheer surface, fleeing the monster below. Skidding to a stop at the towering brick surface you couldn’t see a gate or door anywhere.

“(F/N)?”

Looking up you saw Levi. He was suspended above you, repelling down the wall to where you were standing. The shuddering of the ground began to intensify again as the beast must have figured out you were behind it. You had maybe moments to escape the death charging after you.

“Levi, how do I get in? It’s coming!” 

As the creature entered the clearing you had a moment of familiarity. The titan had no skin. The red tendons with pink and white cartilage was stark in the moonlight. It had to be over 15 meters high and the eyes held an inelegance that promised you wouldn’t escape so easily again. Two more slightly smaller giants entered the clearing looking only a little less horrifying with skin covering their slightly deformed bodies. They were still big enough to eat you in a single bite though. 

Before you could totally register what had happened one of the smaller monstrosities fell to the ground, a large chunk cut free from the nap of its neck. You hadn’t seen where he got them but Levi was now armed with two long blades that seemed to be able to cut down these things. In a blur of glinting blades Levi made an aerial spin that shredded away the large reaching hand of the second smaller skin covered beast. With blinding speed Levi tore a red gash up the remainder of the arm and sliced out another huge chunk from the nap of its neck.

He didn’t miss a beat swinging back and scooping you up into his arms. He was ascending the stone barrier with lightning speed but it wasn’t fast enough. A second huge skinless titan had entered the clearing and used a thick cartilage looking hardened growth over its fingers to tear into the wall and lunge up the need distance to grab one of the cables attached to Levi’s harness. The sharp pull the bastard gave the line it caught had torn away two of the cords moving you both up the wall, instead sending the pair of you plummeting toward the ground.

With the skill you had come to expect of him, Levi used the one remaining line to catch the fall and swing you both away from the armored yet skinless abomination. The skinless titan charged forward just as the armored one did the same, leaving the two of you trapped between them. Levi set you down, pushing you behind him, and readied his blades to slice apart which ever one reached you first. 

When his blades shattered against the armored hand you instinctively reached out to try and pull Levi back in the other direction, away from its grasp. But you couldn’t reach him. The other titan had reached you and had your legs in it’s crushing grip. The two heartless beasts were standing close enough together that you could see the armored giant’s fleshy lips part into a hellish grin as it raised Levi toward its mouth. There were tears streaming down his cheeks, a look of total horror passed across his expression as a sharp pain ripped through your waist. You didn’t care, Levi was all that mattered.

You reached for him, your finger tips grazing his as he reached back, trying to have one last moment of contact before the end. But his hand fell away to the ground, having been severed from its body by giant grinning teeth. Understanding your own body was in two, you only had a phantom sensation of struggling with your legs to get away. It wouldn’t work, the teeth were coming down and you had no limbs left to push you free.

You screamed.

 

**

 

Levi was through the door and in the bedroom before her scream stopped. He had scooped (F/N) into his arms and held her, willing her to wake on her own from whatever hell she was in. He had looked up what to do if someone was having a night terror after the first incident and it seemed the consensus was that letting them wake naturally was preferred. Others had said the dreams wouldn’t be remembered but (F/N) seemed to remember her dreams clearly. They were normally not bad enough to make her get upset, she had said, but rich in detail and could linger for weeks in her mind. He held her against his chest, struggling to keep from holding her too tightly.

“Wake up, wake up, wake up. Please wake up. Shit! I hate this. Wake up…” Levi whispered the chant into her hair, rocking her back and forth.

(F/N) woke with a gasp as if she was surfacing after having been underwater too long. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was trembling as if freezing. She was muttering something and Levi could hear his name as a part of it. Levi didn’t care how crazy it might come off that he was there holding her. He didn’t care that he was going to have to explain how he got into her flat. He needed to be there to hold her. The only thing that mattered in that moment was getting his (F/N) to feel safe again.

“I have you, Love. I’m right here. You’re safe now.”

“Levi?”

“It’s alright now sweetheart. You’re awake and I have you. Everything is going to be alright now.”

“Levi, you… I couldn’t… We died. We died and it was awful because you died trying to save me. Those monsters, they ate us. I watched it eat you. I couldn’t… reach…” she was growling and sobbing as she trailed off. Levi couldn’t be sure if she was angry or sad or all so tousled that it couldn’t be discerned. He didn’t need to know. Regardless of her suffering’s manifestation he was going to hold her until the sun rose and chased away any lingering shadows of her dream. Even if she demanded he leave he was going no further than her couch. 

“It was a nightmare (F/N). I’m alive. You are alive. We are too big to be eaten whole. Not for your cat’s lack of trying.”

(F/N) started giggling into Levi’s neck and his heart swelled with joy at helping break her free of the terror. Her lips pressed gently to his neck, sending his heart racing. The smallest things she did would stagger him with his need for her. As a second soft kiss found his jaw, Levi found himself wanting to stay for a different set of reasons all together. 

How easy it would be to make her forget the awful images with venerate touches, adoring ministrations. He knew he could bring her to such hights that nothing else could reach her. She would be drowning in him. He wouldn’t though. Not tonight, not after she had just woken from something so heartbreaking. Their first time together shouldn’t be tinged by such tragic violence.

Levi pulled away slowly. He shrugged out of his coat and undid his belt. She let him move back to remove his boots and jeans. He pulled his shirt off, leaving him in nothing but boxer-briefs. Returning to the bed Levi gave her the gentlest kiss he had ever laid upon her lips. He rolled the edge of her night shirt up and in a swift set of motions broke the kiss just long enough to remove the barrier then brought their lips back together. He let the passion of what he wanted to do feed his motions as he leaned her back into the nest of bedding she was still tangled in.

Her hands were exploring along every part of his exposed skin. She ran her fingers across his toned muscles, almost franticly, like any moment he would disappear. He kissed along her neck slowly, trying to calm the tempo her fluttering heartbeat was setting. He covered her hands with his own, subduing the haste and adding extra pressure to her touch. He would show her he was solid, real. He was there and he wasn’t going to vanish, not tonight.

“Shit. Baby, I need to go bolt the door. I didn’t lock it behind me when I came in. I’ll be right back. I’ll only be gone seconds.”

The mock whimpered protest and playfully exaggerated pout was almost enough to hide the panicked fear he could see in her eyes. He could fix this. He was going to chase those fears away and that was final. He pulled away reluctantly. Moving with purpose he went up the stairs to click the deadbolt into place. Coming down the stairs Levi concluded that he would have to lie about how he had entered. He could never tell her. He wouldn’t risk scaring her.

When he entered the bedroom Levi caught her raw look of a shattered heart and vulnerable mind before she hid it behind a lustful mask. As she was now he could take from her everything and she would probably have thanked him. He would do better than his old self for her. He wouldn’t take someone like that again, especially not her. He would be good for her. Stopping at the pile of his folded clothes Levi picked up his shirt. He slid the soft black cotton over her head helping her into the piece of him. Once covered, he started kissing her with all the care he held for her. He hoped each press of his lips or caress of his teeth on her skin conveyed his reverence for her.

“Levi-“

“Shh. I’m sleeping here tonight. We aren’t doing anything more, I’m just going to hold you while you sleep. Please. Let me do this for you?” Slowly, Levi tried to climb under the mess of covers beside her, giving her time to protest his near naked presence. If she wanted he could go home and change into his normal sleeping attire and return but he rued leaving her for any longer than necessary. Clinging on to him, she nodded into his neck, wordless permission granted for his staying.

(F/N) tighten her shivering arms around Levi, pulling as close to him as she could. It was obvious that she wanted more than just being held as her leg slipped over his and her mouth gently trailed kisses up his neck. She pulled slightly at his waist, encouraging him to use his hips to give her more requisite contact. Levi felt a dark whisper of how easily he could take her any way he wanted, she would have allowed it. Right now she was prey and he had to fight to not be the monster he had once been. He wouldn’t hurt her, he would never harm her, she was not some commodity to use up like the others.

He could give her more than he was though. He slid his hand under the shirt, rubbing small circles into the small of her bare back. Rubbing patterns into her skin he traced a picture of his affection on her. He kissed her neck and let his teeth apply slight pressure, careful not to be hard enough to mark but a solid electrifying presence on her skin. She rolled her body to top him when his hips still didn’t take up her invitation. Straddling him there was no room for doubt of how much he wanted her. He was hard and ready, straining against the thin cotton separating them. The rolling of her hips on him made him gasp, his hands grabbing on to her as he thrusted up to meet the motion. Oh, how he wanted to be inside her. 

He flipped them over so he had her pinned under him. His hand under the shirt covering her had  hiked up the hem letting his chiseled abs run along her exposed flesh. He ground himself between her legs as he bit down harder than intended on her neck. The exquisite reaction of her breathily moaning of his name nearly shattered his resolve. He was rolling his hips in time with her own less restrained motions. The deep long thrusts into the light fabric separating them still allowed him to feel her intimate heat pressing against him. 

“Harder Levi, please. Please mark me. I need to see you on me.” There was such yearning in her voice Levi had to comply, no matter how it frayed his restraint. Levi took a fist full of her hair in one hand and pulled the neck of the shirt aside with the other. He pulled her head to the side, gauging where she would be able to see just above her collar bone. Licking along the straining muscle Levi found just the spot he wanted. 

He snapped his hips up, grinding into her as he bit down with the intent of leaving a mark that would last. The tide of his pushing into her pull was as natural as breathing. The pulsing shudder of her guarded femininity was so enticing that he was gripping her and pulling her to him in fierce instinct. He wasn’t even thinking as he let his own hips answered her with sharp shallow thrusts into the thin cloth dividing them. 

“Yes, ah, thank you, thank you, thank you…” she chanted her mantra to the ceiling. The way her body trembled beneath him he was sure he had just brought her without even trying. He kept his movements in time to help lengthen her involuntary squirming beneath him.

“Baby, did I just make you come?” He was sure of the answer but he wanted her admittance. Her whispered affirmation was nearly enough to send him tumbling after her. She was going to be such fun once he finally got to play with her, his darkness purred. That she wanted to be marked and enjoyed it so much promised endless amusement. She might enjoy any number of pains as pleasure. The game of finding which she enjoyed, that he wanted to supply, would be such merriment. Not yet though, maybe not ever, he stamped down the darker thoughts threatening the one he was determined to possess. 

In the heat of the moment he had slipped his free hand under the waistband of her panties and scratched along her covered cheek. He could feel the rivets littering her skin as he ran his hand up her back. Realizing he was well passed the line he had drawn for himself he slammed his foot on the breaks. He willed her to get sleepy from the orgasm he had unintentionally given her. If she would just succumb to the euphoria and coaxing warmth of sleep he would be able to reforge his benevolent resolution. 

Her eyes fluttered closed and the deeper rhythmic breaths hinted that sleep was successfully dragging her under. He adjusted his position to hold her against his chest as the warm caress of sleep saved her from the perl of his falling further into inky black behind his eyes. He smirked as the sound of the music from her computer came into focus. The track was perfect for his mood. He shifted his arms holding her tighter to his chest, stroking her hair, and singing into her neck.

“~Just victims are left to bleed. One drink and the pain goes down. Soft shadows lay by her feet. Lay soft as you slowly drown, Lay still as you fall asleep. Fall asleep. Like violence, you have me, forever and after. Like violence, you kill me, forever and after…~” Levi sang along until the song ended. 

He listen silently as song after song made him more engrossed. The enigmatic creature in his arms had placed these songs on this list and there was an obvious theme in some ways but beyond the sorrow in the lyrics and the punky riffs he couldn’t quite understand the muse that had inspired the playlist. Gently he settled her into the twisted nest of covers and pillows that she kept on her bed. 

Levi went to the computer and woke the screen. He opened the the full playlist and looked at the tracks and the order they were added. She had the list on shuffle so there was no reason to the order they would play. Looking to the side bar to see if there were other playlists of similar names he was shocked to see the dozens of playlists. He had noticed the music when he had left her in her bed before. The music had always just been playing though, he had never done anything to it save turn up the volume a hair. Looking now he saw a world inside her that was deeper than he ever guessed, and he had known she held great depths.

He smirked as he read over the names of some of the lists. Clicking on one to inspect it he saw a picture and little comment had been added to the list accentuating its character. Some held bright pop songs, others hinted at a drowning sadness through ambient tunes, and still more held thrashing anger to a techno beat. The full emotional spectrum of her heart was here on display. 

Were these her secrets? Would she be annoyed he had explored this part of her without permission? He hoped the act could be forgiven. He wanted to hear all of them. He wanted to hear her tell him if a song mattered more to her. He was looking at a piece of her soul and he loved it. Levi climbed back into the bed, moving limbs and sorting out snags in the covers and blankets to allow them to both be together under the same warmth. 

Levi pulled her onto his chest, took a deep breath of her and whispered into her neck with a sigh. “Any hope you had of ever getting away from me is gone now, (F/N). I have well and truly fallen for you. I hope you’ll forgive me for claiming you so slowly, I have to be careful. I don’t want to damage you.” He didn’t want to hurt her as he had Erwin. He wouldn’t let the dark half win, he would keep her safe, even from himself. Especially from himself.

 

**

 

You opened your eyes slowly, the early morning sun battering your eyes. You were laying at an odd angle, stretched horizontally across a warm chest, ear pressed close to hear the steady lub-dub within. When looking to see what had encouraged you to take up such an unusual position you saw that the lower half of the bed held all three cats. Without waking you had found it easier to just ball up and use Levi as a pillow rather than move them. Awake enough to navigate it now, you slipped under the covers and adjusted to laying more on Levi’s shoulder.

Slowly the events of last night began to reassemble into coherent order. Levi had given you a ride home from work. You had lingered in the car talking and eventually had gone in to go to bed, alone. There was a lingering grief from another damn nightmare of losing Levi to some titan sized flesh monster. You had woken in Levi’s arms in total panic. How had he gotten there? You had most certainly gone to bed with out him there. Maybe your housemate had let him in? She was often using the back door to let her dog out. You reached for your phone and saw a message from your housemate.

-Hey (F/N). You were screaming in your sleep last night. By the time I got up to check on you I saw the guy from next door running down your stairs. The screaming stopped so I am assuming he woke you up? Just let me know you are ok, please? Hate to think that jerk was taking advantage right under my nose.-

You smiled happily at her protective concern for you. You hadn’t really mentioned Levi to anyone so it wasn’t surprising that she was unclear on the allowance of his presence. 

-Hey Rico, sorry about the crazy screaming, I was having one hell of a nightmare. The guy is my boyfriend Levi so he was completely fine to come and wake me. Sorry I scared you!-

Only after you sent the message did it click in your head that Levi was your boyfriend, or at least you thought of him as one. The words had never really been used though. Maybe he didn’t think of you that way yet. You snuggled back into Levi’s shoulder and took in a sharp breath. Your shoulder let a dull ache remind you of all but having sex with him. Blushing you buried your face into the curve of his neck.

Levi’s arm that was trapped slightly under you grabbed your thigh and pulled you more onto him. His callused thumb rubbed small circles into your bare skin. You hummed happily at the tender motion, kissing Levi gently on his neck. 

“Good morning gorgeous. No additional nightmares, I hope?” Levi didn’t even sound groggy, had he been awake all along?

“None. Thank you for being here. I really needed you. How did you get in? I remember getting out of the car and getting ready for bed.”

“Not sure I want to say. Might upset you.” Levi had his eyes closed so the annoyed look you were giving him went unnoticed. 

“Well my landlady saw you flying down the stairs when I started screaming so I know you weren’t just lurking in my closet watching me sleep like a creeper.” You giggled slightly at the idea of Levi lurking behind your winter coats shooing away the cats to try and stay hidden. Would never work.

“Tch. I hide under the bed, more comfortable and you never check. No, but really, your door wasn’t locked when I tried it. I had figured I would need to bang on it until someone answered but it was open.” You weren’t surprised. The house’s side door that served as your front led straight to the backyard and your housemate had forgotten to lock the deadbolt after  letting the dog out on more than an occasion.

“Damn it Dwayne, your lack of thumbs is no reason to leave me vulnerable to intruders.” you growled into the pillow under Levi’s head.

“Who is Dwayne and should I be jealous?”

“Only if you wish you lived a dog’s life. He is the pit bull that lives with my landlady, Rico. He is a good dog, but totally crap at locking doors.”

“Ah. Well it worked out for the best last night. I’d feel better if you checked before going to bed though. It’s a dangerous world out there. That how people get abducted.”

“Fine fine Mr. Worrypants.” You were chuckling as you buried your face back into Levi’s neck.

“I’m not wearing any pants brat. Oi, what time is it?” Levi stretched with his free arm, making all the hard muscle beneath you shudder. You couldn’t help how it made your breath catch.

“It was around seven. Why?”

“It’s Monday goof. I need to be at work by nine and I want to take you to eat so I’m wondering if we need to get up or not. You want to get pancakes with me?”

“If I say no does that mean we stay in bed?”

“No. It means you don’t get pancakes. I am getting up and eating no matter what. I skip a meal, I might kill someone.” You barely stifled the giggle at imagining Levi tossing Hange off the roof only to have Moblit catch the manically laughing lunatic. There was no sense of self preservation in that one.

“Damnit. Pancakes it is. Hey, Levi. Do you think of me as… No. Never mind. It’s nothing.”

“Hm? What’s that love? You aren’t back to worrying if you’re burdening me over waking you from that nightmare are you? It’s my job to be here for you now. It’s in the boyfriend handbook. Okay, it’s a boyfriend leaflet… Tch, fine sticky note, we get a fucking sticky note.”

Levi pushed you back onto the pillow, he rolled on top of you. Pinning your shoulders down with both his hands he leaned back, a smug smirk was on his lips. “What has you grinning like an idiot? I don’t know what I said that put that smile on your face, but I hope to do it again. Fucking beautiful.”

“You said you’re my boyfriend.” You made the word hold all the weight of your heart. It wasn’t a term you just tossed around lightly and if it wasn’t the same for him you needed him to know it.

“Shit love, of course I’m your boyfriend. Hm, I guess I’ve just been thinking of you as my girlfriend so long I didn’t actually say it to you. Fuck, I AM your boyfriend aren’t I?” There was such fear in the question you knew he was in the same place as you about what the word meant. 

“Yeah Levi, you are. I’ve been thinking of you as my boyfriend since we kissed.” You were smiling shyly at the admittance of how quickly you thought of yourself as his. Levi kissed you softly only to bite your bottom lip with a soft growl.

“Thank fuck. Now get up and get dressed. You have as long as it takes for me to shower and dress or I am going to leave you here.”

“How long is that exactly?” Levi was swift at most things and cleaning was a skill he had mastered in a way that was godly. You doubted you had very long.

“Ten, fifteen minutes tops.”

“Ugh, fine. I’ll get ready.”

“Good girl.” With that Levi gave a last peck to your lips and climbed out of bed. 

Levi was so quick, he was already in his pants and boots and out the door before you could register why he was still topless. You smiled contentedly after him. After hugging his shirt to you a moment longer you reluctantly pulled the garment over your head. You had to hurry up and get ready, it was time to go have pancakes with your boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Levi is singing along to is "Violence" by Blink-182.


	10. Movie Buddies

Eren checked his phone for a response. (F/N) had yet to answer to his question about seeing one of the new sci-fi flicks that came out this weekend. Feeling that the invitation might be rejected out of hand if it looked too much like a date he had invited Armin and offered to have Levi come as well if he wanted. The idea of Levi being there was a bit of a downer but Eren was sure that Levi was just running interference because (F/N) was not sold on him yet. Once she saw how loving and devoted he could be Levi wouldn’t stand a chance. 

“Oi, Jaeger, I doubt your phone has any pertinent information on the current project. Get focused.” Levi’s curt words pulled Eren back into the office. 

“Sorry boss.” Eren muttered as he tucked his phone by his monitor so he could see if he got an answer.

“Tch. Idiot. She isn’t gonna get back to you until I get back to her. What makes you think I want to spend our night with your dumb ass?” Levi was nearly whispering the growled words in Eren’s ear. Even so, Armin still overheard the question. 

“Well, I expect Eren and I are going regardless of you or (F/N), sir. I just know Eren was hoping to get more movie buddies. I can’t really deal with the scary or gory movies very well. I can watch them, I just don’t enjoy them. How many times can we in the audience be expected to believe the characters will make the worst possible calls on how to escape a psycho killer?” The last was murmured more rhetorically.

“You’d be surprised at the bad choices people make when terrified, Male Krista.” Armin only sighed in resignation at the use of the nickname by his superior.

“I would know better than to run upstairs or into a basement where there is no reasonable escape route.” Armin grumbled, focus on the screen before him, words swiftly keyed in to add to the project at hand.

“Of course it’s the lack of logic used by the characters that bothers you Armin. I can’t stand all the needless gore in that stuff. I guess I should expand that to be I can’t really stand the gratuitous violence more than the gore itself. I understand its not real but it’s always so over the top! Gross.”

“Murder is surprisingly messy, Female Armin. One of the many reasons I don’t engage in it to deal with lazy interns. I swear to fuck where did the little potato headed one go now? Does he just go to help Zoë to spite me?” Levi had already started down the hall toward Hange’s office.

“Yes, you grumpy tiny man.” Sasha muttered under her breath.

“Heard that. Lunch is being pushed back 30 minutes. Damn whiny brats.” Levi deadpanned over his shoulder. A batch of annoyed sighs and grumbles confirmed that the punishment was sufficient. 

 

**

 

The time for Levi’s normal lunch break passed without an answer to your inquiry on if Levi wanted to see the new Alien flick with the kids from his office. You had already decided it would be fun to meet Armin and it would also let you get to know Eren in a casual setting. Inviting their boss along might make that a little less easy going but you sure weren’t going to not invite your boyfriend to go with you on what might otherwise get construed as a date by the office rumor mill. Levi had already warned that he was working Saturday to try and meet a deadline for a project that had a last minute snafu. Maybe he would be too high strung to want watch a movie tonight. You tapped out a second message to make your interest in the movie clearer.

-I might not have mentioned but my all time favorite movie is Alien so I really REALLY want to see this movie. I get if you don’t want to go tonight but would you mind if I went? I haven’t been to a cinema since moving out here!-

A long ten minutes passed when the custom tone you set for Levi let you know he had finally answered you.

-Sorry babe, damn brats forced me to push back lunch. We can do the movie if you want. I can’t promise a late night out but I am more than happy to go with you. Just don’t spend time alone with Eren. I think he’ll take it the wrong way.-

-I’ll have my boyfriend as my escort so I doubt that will be an issue ;D-

-He is a bit obtuse about those things. Just a heads up. Armin’s nice though. It’ll be fun. You have a plan yet?-

-Sorting it now. I figured Armin was the better one to figure out plans. He agreed.-

-I can plan-

-Your plate is full enough. And I don’t plan. Eren is a bit… impulsive? I doubt he would be good at calculating times. looking like: home to change and grab me, meet the boys for dinner, then movie sign?-

-Did you just say movie sign? Is there a button to hit? are there alarms?-

-You watch MST3K!? How can you be this perfect?-

-your perfect is everyone else’s angry eclectic hermit-

-We are so making you a hermitage. I’d be a hermit if I could have cats. And people still hired on hermits.-

-I’d never survive the not showering daily, I’m an awful hermit-

-we’ve got the antisocial in spades though-

-So why are we doing the social thing tonight?-

-Because you want me to be happy-

-dammit-

Chuckling softly you knew Levi didn’t totally hate the idea of going out and being social. It was probable he wasn’t thrilled about going with his coworkers but it was obvious that Eren and Armin held a special place in his heart. Tonight would be fun. Figuring it would be polite you texted Eren to let him know everything was going ahead and that Armin was planning out the best times for everything. Maybe all three of them were openly talking about the plans at lunch but that seemed improbable. Levi was being the boss right now, not their buddy.

 

**

 

Eren jumped as his device finally rattled on the table in front of him. Seeing a text from (F/N) instantly brought a heat to his cheeks. He opened the message and read her sweet words and couldn’t contain the flutter of his heart.

-Hey Eren! I am excited to come see the movie with you and Armin! I have deferred planning to Armin as I can’t plan to save my life. Levi will be my ride and he will be on his best behavior. He is there as a friend not your boss so don’t worry ;D-

This was it. Levi was just a friend, she had offered it right there in a text. Now he just had to show what a better friend, better boyfriend he would be. The work day nearly being over was a gift since Eren could hardly focus on anything but his excitement for tonight. His first almost date with (F/N).

 

**

 

Levi glared across the table at Eren and his ridiculous grin, not that the brunette would notice. His eyes were only for (F/N). She was gorgeous tonight, and she wasn’t even trying. Levi had seen trying, it was breath taking. This was just her everyday outfit, probably what she had put on without even knowing she would be going out tonight. Levi adjusted his beaded bracelets so they weren’t digging into him and marveled again at how well he and (F/N) complemented each other. 

She was wearing a well fitting black top with a scoop neck that showed off her lovely collarbone and rich blue jeans that showed off how toned her legs were from all her walking to get around. Her black boots had the same yellow stitching as his, confirming her good taste in footwear. He shifted slightly straightening his navy blue vee-neck teeshirt, checking that it was still adequately tucked into his black  jeans to show off his leather belt that matched his gift to (F/N). Playfully he tugged on the loop of metal that adorned the leather band he had given her, earning him a sideways smirk even if it didn’t interrupt her conversation with Armin. 

The two had been talking about the scientific realism, or lack there of, in movies. Levi didn’t care much for those points since, in his opinion, if one got too caught up in realism in a monster movie it stifled the suspension of disbelief for the whole thing. As they started complaining about the antigravity mistakes in some ‘vampire on a space station’ movie, Levi bit his tongue to keep from asking why a vampire would do something like that. A predator wouldn’t intentionally cut itself off from the larger mass of food without a damn good reason. That kind of logic was the very thing that left Armin frustrated with movies like that, it seemed. (F/N) was giggling at the fact that it was true that the logic was nonexistent but it was the very point of movies like that.

“After all, what kind of self respecting monster would go up into space with only a half dozen people to eat when they could stay on the surface and eat two dozen a night without concern?” (F/N) added with a huge smile. Armin started laughing so hard he had to cover his mouth to control his volume. Levi forced a snicker out but watched as Eren only lightly laughed and mostly just stared at (F/N).

Looking at her right hand and it’s new addition from him, Levi wondered if holding her hand wasn’t appropriate. She was right handed though and while the appetizer of nachos was nearly gone she was still picking at the pile of toppings left on the plate. He should have put it on her left hand and sat on the other side of her. He could eat with his left hand if he had cause. Levi had his debate of taking hold of her hand ended as she used it to flag down the server and ask for more chips and extra salsa. 

“Seems you picked a good restaurant, Armin. I wouldn’t have thought of this place.” Levi commented as he moved his coat from the back of his chair to the back of (F/N)’s. How a woman who consistently had issues being cold would go to a movie without a coat or long sleeves was beyond him. He had grabbed his coat out of habit but now knew it was most likely going to be used by his girlfriend. The thought of her as his girl was a warmth in his chest. He had to just behave and she would be so happy. He could handle not ruining her night out with some friends, even if one was that scumbag Eren.

“Thanks! I thought it would be fun too. It was actually Eren’s idea though.” Armin smiled and bumped Eren with an elbow to encourage the quietest one at the table to say something.

“I had thought (F/N) might really enjoy it. Has really great fajitas. That’s what you ordered too, wasn’t it?” Eren was glowing with affection toward (F/N) as he spoke, fists twisting his napkin as his nervousness found an outlet. 

“This is one of the only places I went after moving out here! Yeah the fajitas are just about the best and they are so filling without being too heavy. Perfect pre-movie food.” She must have noticed Eren’s nerves too because she was smiling extra large at him. Levi remembered the behavior from the first time they had gone to the market. She had been trying to put him at ease the whole time, even when she was so lost in her own issues she had forgotten to even mention her name. She probably didn’t even know that Eren might think she was flirting by doing it. She was just so unusually open with people while still keeping everyone at arms length. Not that Levi minded. He had found a way into her inner world and he wasn’t leaving, not if he had any say in it.

As the server delivered the requested items Armin tilted his head as if doing a difficult math equation in his head, looking from (F/N) to Eren then back again. Maybe the kid was trying to figure out if Eren had a chance with her. Looking at the band on her wrist again, Levi felt a comfort in his knowing the answer. She was his, he had already won her heart and Eren was trying for second place. Relegated to ‘friends’ status. Maybe a promotion to Best Friend down the road but that would be hard won. His girl could give away so much and yet still give out nothing of her true self. As Armin took in a breath to say something, Eren blurted out a comment that nearly had Levi jumping the table.

“It makes sense I could pick a good place for us. You and me run on the same wave length (F/N). No wonder you wouldn’t have thought of this place Levi, too festive.” Eren’s words had a good natured tease to them and the overall mood was still light so Levi forced the rage down and chugged down his iced tea to keep from speaking. Using the distraction of placing the now empty glass down without a breaking it helped to give him time to collect his normally neutral self to respond to the hidden jab.

A slightly cool hand slid into his, freeing his glass from the choke hold of his left hand. She ran her thumb along his knuckles before releasing her hold to take a chip and scoop salsa up to take a bite with a brightness that was defusing of any tension. 

“Levi has been taking me to all sorts of nice places. This place is a bit loud for where we’d normally venture but maybe take away and movies at home in the future?” The way her body relaxed into the slight contact of Levi’s coat behind her was subtle but evident. Armin’s eyes widened a little at the realization of her and Levi’s relationship but Eren seemed oblivious still. Nodding once as if in agreement with something Armin smiled brightly and cut off anything Eren might have thought to say.

“I bet all of us could make a habit of coming here before movies, now that we are going to be movie buddies. I’d love to have someone to watch the artistic stuff with, Eren gets bored and my Girlfriend has openly said I should find anyone else to go with. She was so annoyed by The Tree of Life that I think I’ll never get her to go to a movie with me again. Not that I’ve suggested anyhow.” Armin gave a happy chuckle at the end to open up the conversation more.

The laughter that (F/N) was trying to suppress was adorable, but it looked like she might explode. “Just laugh you goof, you’ll pop you keep trying to be quiet about it. I like it when you really laugh.” Levi rested his arm across the back of her chair, allowing him to feel possessive of her without actually hampering her laughing fit. As the tide of laughter rolled from her in a slightly barking burst Armin joined in and even Eren let the infectious laughter sweep them away. Levi just smirked and watched her in her liberated amusement. “What is so funny anyways brat?”

“Tree of Life was a movie that had a total screw up in it’s promotional campaign. It had these big name actors in it and was being promoted as a mainstream drama, maybe even crime drama. In reality it was an arthouse masterpiece in existential thought and cinematographic glory. Totally perfect if you knew anything about the writer/director. If you only saw the trailer though you might have thought it would be a Mystic Falls or maybe even a Reservoir Dogs. Nope, over two hours of abstract exploration of deep thought provoking images with minimal dialog. The farthest one can get from the expectation the trailers made. Great movie, bad marketing.” Pausing to catch her breath Levi raised an eyebrow encouraging the rest of the explanation since he was still missing the punchline.

“Mikasa, my girlfriend, is a mainstream action and drama fan. It must have felt like a conspiracy to get her to go to that kind of movie. Been in the doghouse about it ever since.” (F/N) started laughing with renewed zeal and Armin barely finished before his own laughter at the misery took over. “That movie came out like 5 years ago. I think there was a chance she’d have broken up with me if I hadn’t dragged Eren along too. I was obviously misinformed.” The boisterous laughter took off again and Levi gave an encouraging smirk with nod of understanding. 

The food arrived and while the conversing stalled out it was a pleasant sort of quiet. Brief comments on the food being good and requests for the handing of condiments were the only sounds aside from chewing. Levi snuck in a few affectionate brushes here and there, placing a napkin on her lap, removing a drip from her chin. He had already discovered she didn’t like being hindered while eating, even by affection. 

The the bill arrived and Levi caught her hand before she could pull out money. “I have you, Love.” He gave her a challenging look knowing she might fight the idea of his paying when she could cover her own meal. 

“Let me get us next time?” She asked with the cutest emphasis on ‘us’. It was almost enough to make Levi agree to it. 

“No.” Almost.

 

**

 

(F/N) was once again batting at Levi’s shoulder in mock disapproval. Armin chuckled lightly as he slowly put together the pieces of the relationship that was such a guarded secret in the office into perspective. Watching Eren frown and look confused was a little heartbreaking for the intellectual. His friend obviously didn’t realize what he was looking at.

“Eren?”

“I figured I would get (F/N) her ticket. You think she will want snacks even though we just ate?”

Armin was stunned for a moment. Shaking off the bafflement Armin decided to try and figure out what was actually going on in his friends head. “I think (F/N) expected to pay for both her’s and Levi’s tickets actually Eren. Why did you think you would be getting it?” Armin tried not to sound too surprised by his friends expectation. The last girlfriend of Eren’s had never been around Armin before the breakup so maybe this was the very thing that had snapped the girl. 

“I invited her out. I was expecting to get you and Levi too, if he’d let me. I mean he is our boss so maybe it would be weird. I just wanted to show some gratitude for the company.” Eren was looking at his shoes, having a slightly defensive look to his pout. He might also be thinking of his ex and her reaction to his generosity. “Yes, I’ll have two to the 7:10 show please.” Armin chided himself for so obviously berating his friend over an innocent interest. Eren often gave gifts as a means to express gratitude and friendship. Not covering dinner for everyone had been hard on him most likely. 

Armin sighed and smiled softly at his oldest friend as he accepted his ticket for the show. “Thanks, and I’m sorry Eren. I was making an assumption and it was unfair. I just thought you might be ignoring that Levi is obviously courting (F/N).” Armin patted Eren’s shoulder only to realize how tense he was. “Eren, what’s…”

“He won’t keep her. She is gonna see how kind we are and realize she is worth a million of him and drop him like the poisonous bastard he is. He is so grumpy all the time, it’s toxic. She will see that eventually and leave him for it. It’s not an ‘if’ it’s a ‘when’.” Eren was glaring cooly at Levi as he spoke.

Armin didn’t totally disagree with Eren on that point. Levi was inarguably the most abrasive person he had ever met. That being said he also knew how people saw him and Mikasa. She was a lot like Levi with her aura of “bug off” that seemed to be a constant. Armin loved her though. They had long conversations about all sort of things and she was beautiful and doting and sentimental. She hid most of her emotions but Armin was sure she felt things even deeper than most. There were times were only he seemed to see her feelings but they were there. If Levi and (F/N) were the same way together, nothing short of a total bombshell issue was going to split them up. 

Armin forced a laugh and said what he knew his friend needed to hear for the moment. Hope. “Levi is definitely not the classic ‘good boyfriend’ material. I agree.” Armin’s words froze in his throat when Levi’s eye’s locked on his. In the crowded lobby with such a distance between them, it seemed impossible Levi had heard him but the glare seemed to say otherwise. “Eren, just don’t hold you’re breath waiting for them to break up, ok?”

“Yeah, yeah, lets catch up to them so we can all sit together.” With that Eren trotted off to keep them from getting separated.

 

**

 

“Damnit all, I heard it fall but I can’t see it anywhere.” Eren was face deep in the seat he had been occupying during the movie, his butt high in the air as he reached as far as he could between the seats. 

“Tch is it off or just silenced? I could call it for you, dummy.” Levi stood over the younger man with his arms crossed and scowl apparent. The auditorium had near completely cleared out with only a few in the rows ahead sitting watch the end credits. 

“If it’s ringer is on can we wait until after the credits to call, please? And try to keep it down, some folks are still watching.” (F/N) whispered harshly. All three men looked at her with surprise.

“It’s just the end credits, pet. Not like we’re talking over dialog or something.” Levi’s deadpan was  muted down all the same. He pulled his coat closer to him, the coat that he had needed to lend to his girlfriend as predicted, and pulled out his phone from the inner pocket. That she was still in the coat as he moved her to get what needed was incidental. 

“Could have asked me to hand that to you Levi.” Even in the half dark of the end credits Levi could make out that she was blushing from his light contact. He loved the way she reacted to him. “Also they paid for the right to watch the whole movie, let’s not ruin the end for them.”

With a roll of his eyes and a soft huff Levi went back to trying to get home with enough time to maybe have some alone time with his girl. “Eren, your phone, is there a point in my calling it?” Levi yell whispered at what had once again become a rump instead of a face. Pinching the ridge of his nose Levi selected Eren from his contacts and looked to see if he could see any light or motion under the seats.

“Oh! There it is!” (F/N) dropped down before Levi could protest. “Got it! Ew, sticky.”

“Oi, mind the coat brat. Ugh, come on lets get you clean before it spreads. This wasted enough time I’m sure there isn’t much of a line for the bathroom anymore.” Levi was watching her hand as if amputation might be a better alternative. 

(F/N) handed the found phone to Eren and absently went to brush her hair out of her face with the now gross hand. Levi moved without fully thinking the action through and with the speed he normally reserved for emergencies he had taken her grimy hand in his while straightening the stray hairs with his other before the disgust could get on her face. “Damnit all. Now we both need to wash up. Come on before we are all contaminated by this filth.”

“I think I’ve seen a movie like that. Lets get going.” Eren was glowing about getting his phone back or maybe that it was (F/N) that found it. Levi didn’t actually care as long as the strange sticky substance  connecting his hand to hers much too firmly was soon off them.

 

**

 

You came out of the bathroom expecting to see Levi and the others waiting for you. Instead you found only Armin tapping on his phone. He had a bright smile as he read some answer he got and continued to tap out a new message to the person he was talking with. 

“Are you texting Mikasa?” you asked as you walked over.

“Yeah. She was really surprised when I mentioned that Levi had a girlfriend. Seemed to think it wasn’t possible after the way I described him.” Armin half chuckled but then thinking on the way what he said sounded he quickly tried to explain what he actually meant by it. “Sorry I didn’t mean to say-“

“You are fine Armin. I have met Levi. I might be completely smitten with him but I’m not blind to how he is around people. He is better with me in the important ways and I am understanding of the parts that are still harsh, even for me. I’m not promising forever just yet but I could see a happy future with him. He isn’t just a fling for sure, ya know? So you and Mikasa have been an item for a long while then?”

“Yup! It’s funny. I had been thinking you and Levi is a lot like me with Mikasa. She has a hard time expressing affection, well, any emotion really. She keeps it all inside. Everything except anger. And even that burns pretty cold with her.”

“Levi is like that. Have you seen him really get angry? It’s like he is a different person. I wouldn’t say scary but definitely not something I would like to be on the wrong side of.”

“I have yet to see him really lose it. I think I have you to thank for that. The others have said he is all around happier lately. People might tell you you could do better than him, but I won’t. They aren’t diamonds in the rough, our sweethearts. They are geodes. Totally hard and not very appealing on the outside but if you are lucky enough to see the inside they are uniquely perfect in their own way. He might not be perfect for everyone, but he might be perfect for you.”

“Thanks Armin. I’m really glad to get to meet you finally! I hope we can watch movies together sometimes.” You were blushing slightly at sounding so mushy.

“I’d really like that. Maybe the four, or five of us, could all go out. I don’t think Eren knew you were seeing Levi so I half thought Eren might be trying to ask you out with this movie night. Now I think he is just trying to make friends with you. He is a bit of a mess but if you can handle Levi, Eren should be easy.” Armin chuckled softly.

“Me with Eren? He is way too young for me!” you were laughing softly, a deeper blush taking hold.

“Too young really? I mean twenty-five isn’t that young is it?”

“Twenty-five?!”

As Levi and Eren came out of the men’s room, you looked at Eren like you were seeing him for the first time. You had a rule that you didn’t date anyone who couldn’t buy a beer on their own and suddenly Eren was more than old enough. You shook the realization out and looked at Levi. He was your boyfriend and you were happy about that. He had come out tonight to be with you, even when he would have rather not. You snuggled a little deeper into Levi’s coat. Eren being in the realm of datable was irrelevant at this point, you had Levi and that was all you needed.

 

**

 

Levi lamented needing to call it a night. The lights were still on next door, highlighting that the one person he couldn’t get enough of was awake if he went over. He had to be up early, had to be alert and focused on the project. He wasn’t though, he was with her, wanting to be at least. 

The kiss goodnight had been chaste and nothing like what he wanted to do. He had wanted to leave a cascade of marks down her neck, let the world see she belonged with him. That wasn’t the mood though. She had fallen into her head on the ride home. She was quiet and lost in thoughts that Levi could only guess at. He let her be free to explore the world of her mind and just hummed along with the music she had playing through the car’s speakers. A light kiss with an exchange of soft words and she was gone.

How had the night ended for her? Was she happy to have gone? Did she regret inviting him to join them? She had seemed really happy bonding with Armin. Something about the way she was looking at Eren after cleaning up in the bathroom bothered him though. He was sure she was the sort to be loyal and not start seeing Eren on the side or some shit. Still, Levi had no false ideas of what a chore it was to be with him. She might get tired of him, worn-out by his lackluster mood and poor temper. Pick Eren.

Turning out the lights Levi tried to shake off the doubts seeing (F/N) thrive with others had bloomed in him. She had picked him. He was going to be extra busy for the short future but soon he could make it up to her. She would be happy and cared for. She would be his alone. Soon it wouldn’t be a choice, it would just be truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: Thanks for reading, all! This is not the best chapter so far but I felt it really gave important info and built up Armin a little better so I added it. This is, in a way, the point I see as things getting... darker. I started writing this story with the chapter that is currently numbered at chapter 16, and I think the break point from Part 1 to Part 2 will be shortly after that. This writing is me feeding my Muse. The whole reason I post this stuff is the hope it might spark something in someone to create anything. Feed your Muse. Thanks for taking this journey with me!


	11. Bite Me Breathless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then there was the smut chapter. This gets very NSFW. I'm bad at writing smut and hate to have this story get too inundated with it (especially since I can't write it well enough) but I still felt it was needed. It adds emphasis to the tension Levi feels, I hope.

Levi hit the refresh button on his email and read the newest message. Smashing his fist down on his desk, he tabbed back over to the project his team was working on. A late evening meeting had been scheduled last minute, forcing Levi to cancel his plans on going out to a movie with (F/N) and “the boys” as she had taken to calling them. This project had made the last month nearly unbearable in how much it was keeping him from seeing her. 

The Wednesday grocery trips had become nearly sacred to Levi with the demands of the job reducing his time with her. He only got to see her briefly once a day now, if that. Levi still managed to drive her to work most mornings or pick her up on the late nights but that was all. Fifteen minutes in a car just wasn’t enough. The times he was by himself on the drive he could hear her in the silence. Her near constant music making him overly aware of the quiet that surrounded him when she wasn’t around. The still air held a charge to it though, like it was waiting for her to fill it. His space was holding it’s breath in anticipation of her filling it with her sounds once again. The waiting was killing him.

This would be the second time he had to bail out of a date with her because of a meeting and he hated it. It was bad enough to be missing a chance to see her, but now she would also be out with Eren. Armin was also going to be there but Levi didn’t like the way Eren was beaming every time he got a message from (F/N). He knew he was just being insecure in thinking that Eren might steal (F/N) away from him. He was positive she wouldn’t cheat on him but that did nothing to calm his nerves. He felt like he was neglecting her all to often these days. The custom tone alerted Levi that (F/N) had sent him a message. 

-Hey Levi, the boys said it might be a late night for management? Are you missing the movie or just dinner?-

Stupid little shits couldn’t even wait five minutes before telling her about his failure to be there with her.

-Sorry Sweets, I just got told about a meeting tonight. I’ll end up missing everything.-

Levi was crushing his phone a little, lost in the dark clouds of disappointment when it trembled in his hand.

-You don’t need to be sorry. I know how important it is for you to be at these meetings. We will be able to see each other soon though!-

“But not enough. Not soon enough. Not long enough. I’m gonna lose you if it keeps going like this!” Levi slammed his chair under his desk as he left his office.

Walking out onto the area of the floor that held his section, Levi took inventory of his people and if they were on task. Armin and Krista had noticed his mood already and much like the veterans were hard at work, focused on their screens. Connie and Sasha only needed a single glare to get them back to work. Reiner wasn’t at his desk but he had been firm in his refusal of helping other sections after the incident the first day so Levi let it go. 

“You aren’t mad (F/N) is going out with me to the movies are you boss?” Eren was looking at him with a smug grin. Bastard didn’t even have the sense to hide how pleased he was that Levi wouldn’t be able to make it.

“Us, Eren. I don’t want you accidentally starting any gossip about (F/N). She is our friend, after all.” Armin was gentle in his chiding though. Levi expected it was to keep the overall mood from escalating. 

“You two idiots had better make sure she has a good time. I can’t be there but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t have fun.” Levi didn’t even believe himself, he just sounded angry.

“I wouldn’t do anything to upset (F/N). I’ll be sure she enjoys herself!” Eren seemed to take exception to the implication that (F/N) might not have a good time with them. 

“Tch, just hurry up and finish what you are working on. All of you can get out of here once you finish the part you’re on. No point in all of us being trapped here.” Levi didn’t look back as he stormed back to his office. Seemed nothing was going to salvage his mood.

 

**

 

You waved happily to Armin as he pulled away from your place. The night had been nice even if it hadn’t had the one person you were the most excited to see. It started with a slightly heated conversation about driverless cars but smoothed out over dinner. The movie had been fun but nothing special. Armin had insisted on being the one to drive you and it wasn’t lost on you as to why when you met up with Eren. 

You liked Eren and he was mostly just being sweet but it was a little too much for someone that was just a friend sometimes. Worse still he would say things that were thinly veiled insults to your boyfriend. Tonight he was on his best behavior though and only brought up Levi once, and that was only to commiserate with you in his absence. It felt good seeing the boys, but you had missed Levi at every turn.

You changed into your oversized teeshirt that served as pajamas and put on ‘Let us Prey’, a movie Levi had recommended to you. 

 

 

As the end credits started rolling you smiled to yourself. Levi had been right, it was a good one if you were okay with the violence and darker theme. You had really liked the ending and couldn’t wait to talk with Levi about his opinion of it. A loud knock on the door startled you from your thoughts. Looking at the clock you wondered who it could be calling so late.

You went up to see and before you stood a sight that tugged your heart. Levi was still in his work clothes, his dripping wet work clothes. You didn’t need to ask to know that Levi had just had a long and horrible day. You immediately abandoned the door to him and ran to the bathroom for a towel. 

Turning to go back up to Levi you ran right into him, a large wet spot left on your nightshirt from the impact. Levi only sighed and continued to disrobe, inundated garments left hanging in the shower to catch the dripping. When he hit the point where he was in only his boxers you offered the towel with a blush and turned to let him remove the final dripping article. Strong arms slid around your waist, his hot breath brushed along your nap just before Levi’s fevered kisses started down your neck.

“Tch, your shirts wet.” At that Levi grabbed the hem of your top and in swift succession pulled your top off and turned you around. His lips caught yours in a passionate kiss. He was so warm against your now bare chest. You ran your hands over his toned back, moaning softly as he pulled you in tighter.

Levi picked you up at the hips allowing you to wrap your legs around his waist. The towel that separated you suddenly seemed all too in the way. Levi was carrying you into the bedroom without slowing in his devouring you. 

You gave a startled squeak as he half tossed half dropped you on the bed. Levi just stood at the foot of the bed and looked at you with his normal emotionless mask. You knew how to read his eyes now though and through those windows you saw a storm of emotions. 

“Levi?”

“I’ve been missing you so much. Tonight was the absolute worst night I have ever had and the reason for it was I wasn’t with you. That brat got to sit with you, laugh with you, and all I got was a free ice cold shower.” His fists were clenched at his sides.

“Lev-“

“Can I stay? I need you so badly. I feel so far from you after this fucking month. I just need to be as close to you as I can get.” You could see how vulnerable he felt from the admittance. 

Levi clearly felt like he was losing you and you had just spent the evening with another guy. A guy who was awful at hiding his interest in you. You understood how some people might feel neglected, feel that it was ok to get comfort from someone like Eren. A nice guy who was offering himself when times were bad and loneliness was heavy. You also knew Levi wasn’t neglecting you by choice. You had waited for him to be ready.  You had waited for him to kiss you. You would wait for him now. He was worth it.

“Of course. You know I have been missing you too, right?” You shifted back, moving to lift the covers so the pair of you could be under them together. Levi watched you, biting his lip as the waves of emotion changed the hues of his eyes. He nodded once and left the room. You were about to get up to go after him when he returned, phone and wallet retrieved from his soggy pockets. Trinkets now safely on the nightstand Levi lifted the covers to join you.

As Levi climbed into the bed you wondered about the odds of the towel staying put while you both slept. For a moment you thought about offering to run next door and get him something more to sleep in since nothing you had would fit him. Not that you minded the idea of him naked, just that you knew he was still probably intending to not cross that line. Before you could collect the words to tactfully offer, Levi had his lips against your’s once again. 

Rolling on top of you, Levi’s towel clad hips were once more pressed against you. You felt so exposed in noting but your underwear. Kissing his way down, Levi watched your expression as he moved lower to your displayed breasts. He licked a slow circle around one areola making your swoon under his touch. When he then repeated his affection to the other, you were mesmerized by how good he could make you feel with the smallest effort. He was taking his time and watching to see how you reacted to each teasing caress. 

Taking one hardening nipple in hand he started sucking the opposite bud. You made a soft moan as you bit your lips to keep from getting too noisy. He ran lazy circles with his tongue making the nipple pert then traded to the other. You were melting in his touch, needing him to reshape you. A flash of mischief crossing his eye warned shortly before Levi risked lightly biting your breast. His soft nip of such a sensitive spot might have been too much for some. Levi purred softly at your response to his test, the involuntarily bowing of your back. 

You’re arching spine had you grinding into Levi before he trapped the thigh between his legs. That was when the all too valiant towel finally failed in it’s attempts to keep Levi decent. Levi took in a sharp breath as the missing barrier allowed his length direct contact with your silky hip. He allowed himself a moment of grinding into you with the thrusts stealing away any thoughts you had beyond how firm he was, how much you wished he was in you.

Slipping between your legs Levi held his hands tightly on you panties as he brought his hips to yours. This trapped him, hard and straining, against the wetness of your panties. Only the thinest bit of cotton separating you. His waist pinned you down as he circled his thumbs on the edge of the last boundary, breathing hard. His eyes were searching yours, weighing out what he wanted to do here, how far he was willing to go. He blinked once, slowly. 

“Now these are wet too. You should take them off.” Levi let the elastic waist band snap softly at your skin. He rolled off you, hand going to his wallet. His movements were intentionally slow. You knew he was giving you room to stop him, slow him down if you wanted. You stripped naked, last hinderance removed. You had been waiting for this.

Returning to you Levi took both your knees and spread them slowly. Centered between your parted legs, Levi’s fingers were splayed out on your inner thighs, opening you for him. Gently he pressed your legs further apart. Once he had spread you open and on display for him, he let you see the hunger in his eyes.

“Fuck. Just look at you. So flexible, so damn limber. And such a cute little pussy.” You didn’t have time to even take a breath to respond before Levi dipped down to give a long lick up your body. He was steady in his tasting you, not being hasty or lingering too long. The warm stripe he painted started at your core and ran up pausing only briefly to flick the tip of his tongue against your clit as he climbed higher. He was watching your face as his trail ran over your navel and up between your breasts. Once he got to your throat he played his tongue along your racing pulse. When his lips finally found yours he used the distraction to drive his now protected member inside you.

Your mouth opened in a silent gasp at the feel of him entering you for the first time. Levi’s tongue took the invitation to explore your mouth while still slowly pushing in to the hilt. He was so solid in his filling you, you had never felt so complete. Once he was sheathed inside you completely he stilled to try and reclaim his breath. Even his just entering you had left you both panting in the restraint of savoring the experience. Levi used one hand to pull your forehead to his. His frantic breathing was mixing with yours, your air was his to take in and his the only breath you could catch. The intimacy of the moment was overwhelming in a way. 

Levi pulled out slowly only to thrust forward just before pulling free. Sparks shot across your skin as he drove deep into you again. A rhythm started as he repeated the motion, exchanged breaths adding to how much of him pushed and pulled in to you. You were awash in the warm glow each buck of hip sent rippling through you. His strokes where smooth with a slight shift of the angle every few thrusts, until he brushed the sweet spot inside you. When you caught your breath from the feel of him he smirked. His aim was set.

“There we go baby, fuck, how I’ve need this. Needed you. Mm.” Levi’s voice was rumbling with lust. He kept his position so he was building up the warm glow with each pass over the clutch of nerves. You could only shudder under the growing weight in your abdomen. 

His rhythm was relentless now as he lead you closer and closer to the edge. He ran the head of his cock over the sensitive bundle of fire works in your depths with every pass. As you trembled slightly from the exquisite attention, Levi grabbed your throat with one hand. He held your jaw to a perfect angle to make you feel a slight strain as he licked and nipped. 

His own rhythm faltered as the urgency of release closed in. As you started to fall into your climax  Levi bit down harder than you had ever experienced before. Your hands fisted into the covers as you forgot how to even breath around the feeling of this peak. The feel of him shuddering inside you combined with the rumbling contented sound in his throat signaled Levi was coming with you. You were falling in the warm waves of release in time with him, making the rippling pleasure last even longer.

Breathless and unsteady Levi slowly pulled free and half collapsed on you. After only just catching his wind Levi rolled off you and found the towel that had been secured to his waist. Cleaning up the significant mess he’d made, caused you to make, Levi got up and sourced a fresh pair of panties for you on his way to the bathroom. He took the dirtied towel and spent condom with him. You couldn’t figure how he already had the energy after that. A thunk from the laundry room and the sound of the shower turning  on told you Levi’s OCD powered cleanliness was not to be underestimated. 

You had meant to stay awake. Levi was normally pretty quick in cleaning up and his boxers where the only article that needed drying for slumber, and those couldn’t take long. You just let your eyes close for a second, but then you didn’t open them again quickly enough. 

 

**

 

Now clean and clad in dry underwear Levi returned to the bed room. He walked over to the bed and gave a soft tut as he saw she had already fallen asleep. The silence told him that sleeping had not been her plan, however. There was no way she fell asleep without her music on, not on purpose. Levi walked over to the computer and woke the screen to see which playlist he wanted to start up. 

The currently cued up music was a bunch of plucky pop songs that Levi recognized from the drive to work. Most likely she didn’t want to have this playing while she slept. Might make her dream of work, totally unrestful. Looking over a few more lists he found one named ‘Lullaby from Ophois’. Levi stared at the name for a long time, wondering if he should ask her about it or leave it alone. Most likely it was just a coincidence. There was no way she could know. 

Starting the playlist on shuffle Levi immediately liked it. The mostly acoustic with other hauntingly melodic tracks all had an undertone to them. They sang of love, deep and passionate. Each song had a sweet surface with the whisper of dangerous obsession lurking between the lines. Was this a wish of her’s or just a dreamy flavor of what love could be? There was no way she could have know what it would all mean to him, how he would feel so sure it was him that this playlist was about. He struggled to remind himself that it couldn’t be about him, that she couldn’t know that about him.

Levi climbed into the bed and settled under the covers with his still mostly naked sweetheart. She was beautiful in the dim light of the computer screen. Levi gave a moment of thought to rousing her, to using his skilled fingers to lure her back to waking. The peaceful slumber on her face made him think better of it. 

“Sleep for now pet. We have time, now that I am sure you are meant to be mine. We have time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up, the next post won't be until the 13th because the date just makes me happy. Sorry to make you all wait 6 days, but... but NUMBERS!? Sigh. I'm weird. Thanks for reading, commenting, not commenting, just being in the community I love. Thank you, I love all of you! <3 <3


	12. This Devil is Just an Angel That Fell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up, there is notable blood play. NSFW! Sorry about how it is a bit of a tease.

You awoke to the feel of Levi worshiping your most personal of areas. The man’s mouth was kissing along your collar bone and dipping down to your breasts with a haste that was a sharp contrast to what his hands were up to. His salacious fingers were not being forceful but his intent was obvious. He was gently running his fingers along the delicate folds between you thighs. Soft touches explored your growing wetness as starved kisses were served above. 

“Levi?”

“Hm?” He did not slow from his kissing or speed up with his fingers’ strokes. He was nearly overwhelming in his contradictory stimulation of you.

“I… Wha- Mm, that felt good.” The nip he placed at the bottom of your ribcage was so electrifying it distracted from any other thought in your head. 

“I meant to let you sleep, but I couldn’t help myself. You just looked too fucking good to leave alone.” Levi slid one finger into you and intently watched the reaction you gave. You knew he was testing to see how close to ready you were for taking him in. What he saw must have pleased him because he slid in a second finger to enhance his rhythm. 

The warm glow building in you was easing you from your slumber to an alertness that had every inch of you sparking with his touch. You wanted him to take you, to feel his strength driving you once more into the mattress. Seeming to read you mind he removed his fingers and lined his ready arousal at your entrance. 

“Please baby, I need you. I know you just woke up, but can I?” The slight pressure seeking acceptance to your core was impossible to reject. You gave a nod and Levi gave no hesitation. He brought his hips thrush to yours and paused only a moment. He fell into a steady and deep rhythm immediately. The rapidly building coil of warmth had you arching your spine in ecstasy.  

Looking up into his face you were so happy. You knew that being with him was what you wanted. Some romantically naïve part of you whispered about wanting him endlessly. With him whispering in you ear how he was going to be with you forever, you couldn’t help but wish for it to be true. The feel of this all going too fast was a dull hum, easily ignored for the sight above you.

“Say you want to be with me forever. Please. I need to hear the words my lovely. I need you to say it for me.”

“Forever. Levi I want to be yours forever.” His mouth collided with yours. You were drowning in his passion. The working of your lips against his just couldn’t give you enough. A sharp pain as he bit your lip left you tasting copper. He pulled back enough to whisper into your lips. 

“Again.”

“I want to be yours forever Levi.” In that moment, you even meant it. 

His movements grew fiercer at this. The feel of his hips slamming into you was so urgent. You wanted him to be this rough with you but as his hands took hold of your wrists and pinned them over your head you wondered if there was a chance of it getting away from you. 

“I promise not to harm you, sweetheart. I swear it. But I need you to try not to scream. You understand?” He had slowed his pace to ask this. You could feel the strain in his holding back until you answered.

Your were breathless from meeting his earlier speed. “I’ll try, I’ll try, my best.” With that answer his movements began to hasten again. The slick sounds of his length slipping into your depths was all you heard for a moment. Levi adjusted slightly and found the spot that had you whimpering in pleasure beneath him. The heavy thrusts focused on your weakness had you gasping as you lost control.

You bit your lip to keep quiet as he once more reached his thunderous pace. The spot where Levi had pierced through your bottom lip was only a little sore until the pressure of your own bite broke it wide. Your attempt to keep quiet had split it further, letting you feel the liquid escaping faster now. A warm trickle of blood rolled along your cheek but was suddenly lapped up by Levi’s tongue. You were startled by the behavior but oddly not put off.

You caught his eyes and there was pale blue fire behind them. It was the color of a gas flame mixing with the silver hues you were used to seeing. It was only then that you noticed his mouth. His lips were red with blood. You could see a tear in his lip to mirror your own causing the crimson wash. As a drip started to trail down his chin you caved in to a surprisingly dark impulse and licked it off him.

A contented growl rumbled from the man as he nipped at your earlobe. “Do I taste good, baby?” He purred into your ear, never losing his hectic pace. The pleasure was driving you toward the edge and you knew soon you wouldn’t be able to hold back from falling over it. Your voice failed you but you nodded into his cheek. He hummed in satisfaction and started to suck and nibble his way down your neck. Once he found the spot that had you giving the best reaction he bit down with force. 

The feeling was one you expected but had never experienced before. The line between pain and pleasure was so blurred for you that the best feeling you’d known had might also leave a mark that looked horribly violent. When you were sure you felt skin give way to teeth you didn’t panic. Levi was a human, not a monster with huge fangs. His rip into you would be shallow enough because his teeth weren’t practiced in rending flesh. 

Releasing his pressure Levi returned to your lips hungrily. As you slid your tongue into his mouth you tasted your blood mixed with his. The thrill of the debauchery dulled any part of your mind that protested the behavior. Your lips were working together in the same hectic beat of your hips kissing his. Breaking one hand free of Levi’s hold you ran fingers through his hair and had it bump into something hard protruding from just above and behind his temple.

Confused you opened your eyes while Levi whisper again. “Don’t scream, please don’t scream.” As you looked at the man inside you the reason for the plea became obvious. He wasn’t human. Levi slowed his movements and released your other wrist, letting you take in the being before you without feeling trapped.

Two spiraled ram like horns were now cresting his head. The jagged teeth you saw peeking between his lips were sharper looking and more canid than the teeth you normally saw in his mouth. His eyes had taken a cat like quality with a narrow vertical slit acting as his pupil. The silver pools now had rippling blue washing in and out like the sea in a storm, the ever changing colors were mesmerizing. The whites of his eyes were replaced by an onyx black that did nothing to detract from the inhuman quality but made the slight blue glow emanating from them all the more beautiful. Even his skin seemed paler now, closer to an alabaster statue come to life than the human man you knew.

Looking down his body you wondered if he had other additions aside from the horns. Grabbing the sheet that blocked your view of him you tossed it off the bed. The lower half revealed was not the one you’d seen the night before. Levi had the lower half of a devil, complete with hooves and a tail. The long lion like tail was twitching at the tip with a very cat like tick. Reaching down you caressed his now totally still hips to touch the soft fur that started just mid thigh and trailed down his now satyr like legs. The black hooves you saw were more equid than the traditional cloven satyr though. 

Looking back up to his face Levi had turned away to keep from seeing what was certain to be revolt on your face. Pulling one of his hands closer for better inspection you marveled at how the obsidian like nails looking exactly the same as before aside from now matching his horns and hooves. He was a masterpiece of stone brought to life.The only thing you could think looking at this man was how the words you knew to express beauty were insufficient. Spectacular wasn’t strong enough, stunning couldn’t even come close to capturing it.

“I never imagined you could be more gorgeous Levi. You are absolutely breath taking.” You kissed the palm of the hand you had been holding and rolled your hips to encourage him to resume his motions.

Startled Levi turned his ever-shifting eyes to you, he had expected a very different reaction. Once more taking up his fast pace he reclaimed your wrists and pinned them above your head. As he slowly leaned forward to offer a kiss you tried to rise up to meet him. Adjusting to grip your wrists to one hand he used the other hand to tangle in your hair and force your head back to the pillow. 

You let your eyes drift back closed as you yielded to his command over you. The thrilling feel of him was somehow fading though, growing distant.

_“Shit, your neck, does it hurt?”_ The concern in Levi’s voice was far away.

“No. No its fine.”

_“(F/N)? Sweetheart, why are you crying?”_ So very far away.

“I’m not crying.”

_“(F/N), open your eyes. Answer me. Say something!”_ Was he yelling? Levi was too far away for you to tell.

“(F/N)! Wake up! Stop crying and talk to me!” The hands shaking you were so tight on your shoulders you would no doubt sport the bruises for days.

“Levi?” You were surprised at how groggy you sounded. Looking at the man straddling you at the waist you were baffled by how he was fully dressed and sans horns. “Where did your horns go? I wanted to see them in the light. How did I fall asleep?”

“What the ever loving fuck are you talking about? Why are you crying? Because I don’t have shitty… horns?” The concerned eyes searching yours were gray with the faintest blue to them, not storming seas of intense blues and grays fighting for dominance. It wasn’t real. It was a dream. It had all just been a dream.

As reality settled in a bit firmer you felt more tears falling and the understanding of why you were crying was imparted. You had realized you were waking up and you hadn’t wanted to. The demon that had been in your bed was so lovely, so perfect. You had wanted to stay with him a little longer.

“I had a dream you were a demon. We were having sex and-“ Levi interrupted you as his inspection of you turned up more markings than anticipated. 

“Fucking hell, I did hurt you didn’t I? I never meant to scare you. Shit, the bite from last night looks really awful. I did break fucking skin! No wonder you dreamt I was a monster.” You heard such sorrow in his words you started to cry even harder, grabbing him and pulling him as close as you could. 

“Shut. Up. Stop, please, it’s not like that. I… You didn’t harm me. I’m not, you didn’t scare me. Not last night or in my dream. I’m crying because I was waking up and I didn’t want to.” You sniffled into his shoulder and clung even harder, clenching fists full of his shirt. “I was so happy that I didn’t want to wake up.”

“…(F/N). Are you saying you had a dream that I, in the form of a demon, made love to you so wonderfully that you never wanted to wake up from it?” Levi was whispering the words into your neck. He had taken the cue from your hold and had started clutching you to him, burying his face in the crook of your neck. It felt almost like he was the one worried about losing you.

“…Yes.” You were glad Levi couldn’t see how heavily you were blushing. 

You weren’t sure why you had such vivid dreams. They had been a part of your life as far back as you could remember and as awful as they were when they were nightmares, they were just as haunting when they were good. When you told others about your dreams it wasn’t uncommon for them to voice jealousy of your cinematic nightly adventures. 

“I have never in my life had such a good fucking reason to want to punch myself.” The total rage you heard in Levi’s voice made you start to laugh so hard it was difficult to breathe. “What’s so damn funny? Stupid fucking Dream Me just raised the shitty bar to a level I might never be able to fucking reach and you think it’s funny? I was so good you are crying about it stopping, for fucks sake.” The deep rumble of the words made it sound almost like a beast’s growl. The knot of sorrow collapsed as the real Levi let you hear the demon in him.

Getting your emotions in check you started to kiss the neck of the man ever so slightly crushing you. How someone so small could contain such strength reminded you of just how much power was at his disposal. “You’re forgetting I’ve seen how agile you are. There is no bar you can’t reach. I’m sure of that.”

“Did Demon Me have wings? With wings I could get way higher than I’d ever be able to jump.” You could tell he was making light of the dream in hopes of keeping you happy. Even if it was in mourning of him, he didn’t want you crying.

“No wings, but you were so beautiful. You were a satyr sort of devil with a long tail and horns like a ram. Only your horns, nails and hooves looked like obsidian. You know, that glassy volcanic rock used to make arrow heads? Your body was like carved alabaster, even the hair on your legs and tail looked to be more like basalt than fur. Oh but it was soft as velvet. It was like you had been crafted from multiple types of stone then given the breath of life. I can only imagine how stunning you’d have been in daylight. Although the glow of your eyes would have been dimmer. Still, I wish I’d been able to see it.”

“Well this is the first time I’ve ever felt I had to apologize for NOT being a demon. You really do just bring the strangest things to the table don’t you, babe?” The good natured humor in Levi’s deadpan voice was a soothing balm to the loss of your dream. You wouldn’t trade the real Levi for anything but the dream Levi was something you would have liked to enjoy a little longer.

Getting up from the bed Levi looked in the mirror to his shirt and gave a small tut as he started to strip it off. You looked over from your nest of bedding, watching as his perfect human toned skin was revealed to the morning light. “I should have just brought over a few shirts. Could have left the extras for you to wear. But I didn’t and I can’t go in with a huge wet spot on my chest. Those nosy little shits will think I made you cry somehow and not leave it alone until I made up some fight we had were you cried but forgave me in the end. Hm, I guess I could say you had someone call you with some bad news. Would you be overly distraught if someone called and said your childhood home had burnt down but no one was harmed?” The neutral tone Levi used to ask was markedly unsettling.

Starring at the topless man asking your reaction to arson first thing in the morning after dreaming he was a demon, before having even a sip of coffee, was very surreal. “And we are sure you don’t have horns? Why would they expect you to be with me first thing anyways?”

“Tch, everyone thinks we are basically always together. It seems since it became public knowledge I’m actually dating you I’ve become a nicer person, relatively speaking anyways. Shitty-glasses says it’s because I’m ‘getting some’. Had Moblit not been there I would probably be talking to you in a prison visiting room.”

“That guy deserves a raise for standing between you and Hange. I’d rather be trapped between a lion and a wildebeest.”

“Which one am I? The lion or the wildebeest?”

“Hmph, hush. Trapped between a devil and a crazed inventor, how’s ‘bout? You are a demon and Hange is a total Frankenstein. Hey, where are the cats? Seems like they should be bothering me by now.”

“I closed the door? Seems they have yet to figure out how to open it.”

“Ah, well they are being polite for you. For me they just assault the door until I open it. Cats hate doors. Who needs personal time?”

“Goof. I need to get going or I’ll be late. Text you later?”

“Hm, sounds good.” Levi leaned in and gave you a deep kiss before opening the door to dash back to his place and rush off to work. Three protesting cats charged into the momentarily forbidden space. The chorus of meows directed at you from all three had Levi staring in shock. 

“They really love you don’t they. I mean I fucking fed them already even and yet when the big bad asshole locks them out they need to complain to you about it.”

“They are spoiled. Don’t be late because of us! Get outta here!” You playfully tossed a pillow at the topless man. Catching the projectile with ease Levi tilted his head to the side, his eye alight with mirth and a sinister smirk.

“Stay put, just a minute, five minutes tops. I’ll be back.” With that Levi vanished from the doorway.

What followed must have been the sound of Levi running up the stairs and out the door. You stayed put, buried under covers and purring monsters. No more than three minutes had passed when you heard the front door open and close. Looking to the door way you expected to see Levi appear any moment, instead you were bombarded by a bundle of laundry. A half dozen shirts crashed into your face and scattered the cats from the bed.

“You should try on that black one, bet it’ll look good on you.”

Pulling away the sheet you realized you were only in your underwear. Levi was watching you with an appreciation that kept any potential embarrassment at bay, even if your cheeks were blazing. Sliding the shirt on you were surprised at how it was a bit large on you. Levi seemed like such a small person when you thought of his size intellectually but it was obvious that his shoulders were broader than yours and while the shirt did not billow on you, it did cover your panties. 

“Fucking gorgeous. I could get used to seeing you in nothing but my clothes.” Levi was biting his lip, as he looked at his watch and gave an annoyed tut. “I should have just called off, spent the day in bed with you. What the hell was I thinking.”

You walked over to Levi and leaned into a heated kiss with him. Gently, without breaking the kiss, you were guiding him away from the bedroom and toward the stairs to the front door. “You are a good manager and you know I will be here when you get back. I’m not gonna vanish on you.”

“Better not brat. You vanish, and I wont stop looking until I find you. Always. You can’t get away from me that easy.” Levi was kissing along your neck, pulling you up the stairs with him.

“Have a good day at work, text when you can.”

“I will, see you later sweetheart.” And with that Levi sprinted to his car to try and make up a bit of his lost time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The most dangerous rabbit holes to fall down are ones that are never even seen. Only after landing can can the distance from home even be calculated. Poor Reader. She is already falling, already so far from home. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I'll just start apologizing now for where this is going, but it was always going to happen this way. Sorry!


	13. This Angel is Just a Demon Who Has Yet to Fall

Some noise woke Levi from his dead sleep. Taking in a deep breath he smiled as he was enveloped in the subtle scent of (F/N). Levi sighed softly and looked at (F/N) standing in the doorway, giggling as she texted Eren something undoubtably cute and kind and not at all flirty, but Levi felt the ping of jealousy all the same. She was his and that was all there was to it. He had taken the day off since he had worked all weekend, all the last several weekends, yet again. He just wanted to be near her, spend the day with her. He hadn’t realized how much she was texting his staff. He knew it wasn’t true but it felt like he was growing further from her.

“Come back to bed. You are too far away. You should be over here.” Levi had rolled onto his stomach face mostly covered by his pillow, only one eye barely visible through a veil of hair. She was wearing one of his shirts, one that brought out her eyes. She was picture perfect. So much so that when she looked at him, bottom lip trapped in her teeth, his chest felt it might burst from his admiration. 

“No, you get up! We finally have a day together. Let’s be awake for it.” Before any protest could be made she vanished into the kitchen where he could hear her up to something.

“Tch, wasn’t planning on sleeping brat.” Levi grumbled, but got up to get dressed all the same. 

The clatter of dishes warned that the kitchen was currently a work zone and off limits. Levi flopped down lazily next to one of the cats and turned on the TV. He looked at the movies on offer and instead started sifting through the Titan Prime, adding movies they might want to watch tonight. He wanted to eat in, maybe cook or maybe get something delivered? Looking to the kitchen to see what she was up to Levi felt his stomach knot as she texted someone something. Was it her other coworkers texting her maybe? Her cheeks were so rosy though. Did she always look like that when texting Eren?

“Hey Levi, what’s your favorite dessert?” She was looking up coyly from her phone as she asked. With a long sigh Levi looked at her and wished she would just come sit by him. His gaze must have held some of his irritation because she actually looked scolded for a moment before turning to scrub something in the sink.

“Shit, eh… Dessert? Well, I like homemade ice-cream sandwiches.” Levi looked back to the TV, not sure he wanted to explain the fondness. He also hoped to get his ire back under thumb. He wouldn’t lose it with her, not today. So what if she was texting Eren, she was there with him.

“Homemade? Like totally from scratch, even the ice cream?” She was texting again. Was he intruding on her day off? He had just shown up last night and dropped the news last second. Maybe she was rescheduling stuff because he hadn’t warned her.

“My ex would bake these huge chocolate chip cookies and soften up some vanilla ice cream then add a scoop and freeze them up again. He made me those instead of birthday cakes. I really loved them. Made some myself a few years ago that were perfect but different. It was the day… it was the anniversary of when he passed. I made these shortbread cookies and softened some green tea ice-cream and made up a dozen. They were wonderful. I keep meaning to make them again, for some different… a happier occasion. That answer your question Brat?”

She had stopped to look at him and nodded. “Yeah, perfectly. Thanks.” She went back to the dishes but was still glued to her damn phone as well. Looking around Levi couldn’t see his phone anywhere. He felt around under the cat beside him to no avail. Not wanting to call attention to her sudden unusually poor phone habits Levi decided to just not get his phone. Work could burn for all he cared. (F/N) had him for today. If she ever decided to do anything with him that was. 

Starting a movie Levi waited hoping she would stop cleaning and sit with him. Ten minutes in and she finished the kitchen detailing. She stopped and texted some more, not moving away from the sink.

“You want to watch this with me? I can start it over, looks interesting.”

“I need to start a load of laundry first, I’ll be right there.” She didn’t even look up from her phone. Levi ignored the ping of envy that stabbed his chest.

 

 

Levi huffed as the end credits started and she was still busy doing things. Cleaning mostly. He loved how neat she was trying to make her space for him. He assumed it was his presence that had her going into cleaning overdrive. 

“It’s clean enough, darling. Just come sit a while.”

“I’m almost done. Just a few more minutes.”

“Thats what you said a whole movie ago.” Levi only mumbled. He started the sequel, suspecting she would be taking her time joining him.

 

 

She was staring at her phone. She hadn’t even come to the couch to join him. She was looking at her phone and seemed so lost. What was bothering her? She had been weird all day and glued to her phone like never before. Was she talking out an issue with Eren? Maybe there was something wrong and Eren was the one that was being asked how to deal with it. But why Eren and not him?

“I’m right over here if you wanted my company, Love.” Levi tapped the spot next to him.

She looked up in annoyance at him, her grip tightening on her phone. What was so much more important to be getting all her attention today? Why was she so damn distant? He felt his own irritation in her behavior finally push the worst possible button. “Would you prefer I leave you to your chores? I didn’t mean to impose on you by coming over last night.” Levi wished he could have kept his tone better, free of the venom. He knew he sounded angry. He didn’t want to be like this with her but he was hitting his limit.

“Do you even want to be here Levi? Is this really what you planned on doing today?” She was angry with him. He hadn’t done anything to deserve it and yet she was mad at him. He was trying to get her to be with him, relax with him. She was the one talking to everyone but him. She was the one not even trying.

“I don’t know. Maybe I thought I might be spending this shitty day with my fucking girlfriend or something. The fuck kind of question is that?” The response was a roar. Levi tried to grab on to his temper, put his rage back in the box it had escaped from. The light in her eyes sparked then buckled and she turned and went into the bedroom, door left open as cats scurried out from the storm that entered.

“Shit.” With a tut Levi slowly entered the room.

She was crying. She was huddled up in a ball on the edge of the bed, clutching her knees to her chest as she gritted her teeth and tried to be silent in her tears. She was crying and it was all his fault. His temper’s fault. There was no fixing this right now, only making it worse. Levi always only made it worse when he was like this. Levi clenched his jaw to keep in the words he wanted to use. ‘Don’t cry, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I did. Once I figure out what I did wrong I’ll fix it. Please don’t be sad. I want you to smile. Today I only wanted to make you smile.’ The words might have helped if he could have kept his temper from making them a poisonous growl. At best they would have sounded insincere, at worst purely rancorous. The way everything had been going today, that was the worst thing he could do. He wasn’t sure what had gone so wrong but it had, and if history was anything to judge by, it was his and his temper’s fault.

Even in tears she was beautiful. It only made Levi’s chest tighter in his sorrow. He went over and held her shoulders loosely. “I… I’ll go. I’ll give you some time to calm down and put together what happened and we will talk this out. I am not letting go of you, I’m not even leaving for the night. I am just gonna go for a few hours to give you space to think and come right back to you. I hope you’ll be willing to have dinner with me in a few hours?” She nodded, her head resting on his chest. Levi placed a soft kiss on the top of her head and pulled her into a hug. The silent crying broke into real sobs causing her to pull away and grab a pillow to cover her face.

Standing and heading for the door Levi once again checked all his pockets for his phone. Maybe it was in the car? He just didn’t care. He was going to go to the shoreline and watch the waves and see if he couldn’t figure out where the day had gone so wrong. Patting to be sure he at least had his keys he called down from the entry way, not expecting any reaction. “I’ll be back in a few hours lovely. We will get through this.”

Climbing into his car Levi had an epiphany on where he could find an answer to what went wrong. She had been texting Eren all day. Or if not Eren than Armin. Both were at the office still. If he rushed he could just catch them.

 

**

 

The click of the door made your crest split in pain. He had been in such a bad mood all day and you just couldn’t place why. The very start had been so promising with you sending a text about how handsome he looked as you watched him sleep. It should have been a good day. He was the one being a kill joy not answering any of your messages. What had gone so totally wrong? Why had he gotten so angry with you? It was him you had been going to such trouble cleaning for.

He had been working so hard and when he surprised you by saying he would be here all day you felt like your home got even dirtier. If he was trapped in a mess all day he was bound to be even worse off tomorrow. You had hated not being able to sit with him but you knew he just needed to relax. You kept texting him to try and get some of that tense energy rolling off him to ease. He was just so grouchy.

Had he only been there out of habit? Was he even interested in a slob like you? The evidence of cat was still everywhere and you had been cleaning for hours. Levi was constantly immaculate and one night here had covered him in a whole cat’s worth lint. He must have hated it. Blamed you for it. It wasn’t totally unfair but you were trying to fix it, couldn’t he see that?

You needed to calm down before the fears ran away with you. Abandoning your pillow and grabbing his instead. You hugged the item to your chest, taking in a deep breath of the soothing smell of Levi that still lingered. You had never fought with him like this before. This was hurting a lot more than reasonable since you had both been so distant because of work. Even though he had sounded angrier than you’d ever heard him before, he said he was coming back. He didn’t lie about stuff like that, not yet anyways. 

That was when you found it. Tucked behind the pillow, nearly fallen behind the bed was Levi’s phone. Levi had left without his phone. Levi had been without his phone the whole day. 

Looking at the lock screen you saw he had 37 unread messages from you. He had seen you send nearly 40 texts and had never realized it was him you were texting. You must have seemed a total dismissive asshole. And the fact that Eren was one of the only other people you texted was not lost on you.

“Why would he have thought you were texting him you idiot!? He was right here!” You startled yourself with your own yell echoing slightly in the empty flat.

You looked at the phone that was key to this horrible screw-up. You had fucked up royally and now you didn’t even have a way reach him, to explain, to tell him you were sorry.

 

**

 

“You left her crying in her room?! What kind of asshole are you?” Armin was incredulous. Levi had blown in like a storm and caught them in the parking lot at the end of the day, just  before leaving.

“Shut it Male Krista, I am not here to discuss what to do, I am here to figure out what HAPPENED. Which of you idiots was she texting all day?” Armin had never seen Levi like this. His expression looked so empty yet his eyes were almost blue with emotion. If it weren’t for Mikasa’s tendency to do the same thing Armin might have missed that Levi was well beyond upset. He wasn’t just angry, he was lost in a riptide of emotions.

“Not me and I doubt it was Eren. You know how he gets when he gets a message from (F/N). The whole office knows when they are planning to see a movie or something.” Armin was looking at his best friend who was also suddenly angrier than he had ever seen.

“You don’t deserve her. You are absolute scum. She was crying!”

“Eren!” Armin was alarmed at the outburst from Eren, but not surprised. Eren wouldn’t have noticed that the calm hollow man before them was all a front. Levi was hanging on by a thread. Their volatile boss stepped in, taking Eren by the collar.

“I don’t need to hear that from you, you worthless little shit. Was she texting you?” Levi was growling into the taller man’s face. Armin hoped he wouldn’t have to try and split them up. Fighting was not a strong point of his.

“Yeah, she was. Talking about what a *short* temper you have. How she wished you’d just leave her alone. How she didn’t know how to tell you she didn’t like you anymore. You’ve lost her, you just don’t see it yet.” Eren spat the last in Levi’s face. Armin just stood still, jaw dropped.

Levi let go of Eren, his expression one of breaking. Eren’s words had hit Levi harder than his fist ever could. Turning on a dime Levi left so incandescent with rage Armin considered offering to drive him. When the notion of being trapped in the car with that time bomb of violence registered he felt silence and letting him leave to cool off was the better option.

Instead he would talk with his friend about instigating a fight with their boss when he was obviously on the verge. Armin couldn’t have foreseen how wrong of a choice he was making.

 

**

 

Checking that your text to Rico was received you set out to make right the misunderstanding that you had caused and managed to blow way out of proportion. The generally tense Levi coupled with his insecurities then compounding all that with his working so much had built this little thing, this dumb molehill, into a mountain. A mountain that looked a lot like Mount Vesuvius. You scrawled out two notes incase Levi returned while you were out. You took Levi’s phone and placed it on top of yours, centered on the table where they would be easy to spot. One of the brief notes was tucked in between the phones. Grabbing a paper clip and your second note you headed out the door, bags for the store in hand. You stopped by Levi’s door and clipped the other note to outside of the mailbox so he would see it. 

You were making good time but a lingering feeling of something being off was tugging at the back of your mind. Your hind brain, much like that day at the pier, was alert to something being off that you should care about. Everything was on tilt right now though. Levi was mad at you, and for good cause. You had made a mess of the day by your obsessive cleaning of a different mess.

Catching your breath from your fast pace you stopped by a shaded spot to go over the list of ingredients for shortbread cookies, giant ones. You didn’t have time to go back if you forgot anything and it was important to get everything right. It might be an awkward way to use the treat but you knew Levi would understand the significance of your apology if you gave him the special gift as emphasis. Ignoring the crawling on the back of your neck was obvious for this priority. Sparing only the quickest look over your shoulder you saw only the harmless faces of the nameless masses. The odd feeling of being followed was just in your head. No one was even looking at you on the crowded street.

Looking down the the alley comprised of the back entrances of a few buildings you remembered the inlet led to the back entrance of the market. Everyone used the front since the back was so hard to get to with the busy foot traffic blocking the alley. You could shave nearly 8 whole minutes off your walk, 16 if you headed back this way too. It was just a creepy alley leading to an underused parking lot. Levi was worth the sweaty palms. 

Walking with swift determination you listened carefully to hear if anyone started following you, the feeling from earlier not totally assuaged. A light clatter had you turning on your heel to glare at a fallen can. Gravity must have torn it from it’s precarious place in a bin. 

A sudden rustling from behind you came faster than you could have anticipated. That’s when the pungent cloth clamped over your mouth and nose. A hand was tangled in your hair and you couldn’t seem to get any air to scream. The dark fog swallowed you up before you could even get in a fair struggle. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry. I tried to warn you. Hope you'll stay to see how this plays out? Thanks for reading!


	14. Don't Want to See You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember the horror and gore tags. I know they have been there since day one, so they might have been forgotten.

You smashed yourself against the door with everything you had left. The way the lights never went out and the food was always dinner had left you totally unclear on what time it was, let alone the day. Only the trips to the bathroom could be used to guess a measure. Six days? Maybe seven? You were getting tired and soon you would pass out from sheer exhaustion again. You would be defenseless again. You felt bones in your shoulder protest but still the door didn’t make so much as a creak. Tears trailed down your cheeks as frustration once again boiled your blood. 

“Let me out.” Your voice was still horse from the last time you tried to yell for help. You had to try and save it incase there was cause to use it. He might move you. He might do more than try and move you even. You needed to be able to fight and protest and make him regret ever snatching you. 

The times Levi had warned of this very out come, his constant worrying over your nights alone at the bus stop, his fear haunted you. There was a part of you that recalled how Ted Bundy, when walking a woman out to her car after work, had warned her to lock her doors. The monsters of the world were sharply attuned to the vileness of the world. You wanted to believe Levi was out there looking for you, riding the police to find you faster. He was not the one using leather gloved hands to slide trays of food into your cell. 

The slot at the base of the door lifted from it’s resting flush against the floor and a tray empty of anything but a blindfold entered. The glimpse of the black gloved hand had alarms going off in your head yet again. What was the point of the gloves? Would you have recognized the hands of your captor or was he just making it so you couldn’t identify him if you got away?

Once the blindfold was in place you felt the air move as the door silently opened. The gloved hand took hold of one of your arms as the cool press of a knife to the soft skin under your jaw gave warning. You hated this. The first time had been terrifying in ways you had never understood you could feel but now it was just dread for any differences there might be. The last time you had tripped on something that was soft and warm and had you choking on a scream. It felt like when you tripped on a cat in the dark, on something alive, only this had not been a cat, had no longer been living. 

He helped you down the stairs with care. Were there other captives? Did they receive the same level of consideration as you did? You felt the bump of your hip into the sink. You took hold without prompting. He was no longer holding you, he was backing out of the room most likely. A loud click then thump of a deadbolt sliding home made your heart hammer harder in your chest. You removed the blindfold slowly. You always removed it slowly because you didn’t want to see… if its was him.

The tiny bathroom was as it always was, immaculate and smelling slightly of too much bleach. You stripped and started to wash in the shower. It had been truly alarming when the first time in there you had seen your brand of soap, shampoo and conditioner sitting on the counter. Now it was just one more clue that this person was known to you. 

He only ever gave you two trips to the bathroom and if you refused to cooperate or struggled you were left with only a bucket. You had only struggled the once and never risked it again. He was offering you a bit of cleanliness and that would keep you healthy. Healthy meant strong, and strong meant you could fight once the time came. It also kept you human to him. If you were a person he was caring for he might hesitate to do truly awful things to you.

Like the five times before there was a fresh towel and a set of clean garments for you. You put on the clean clothing left for you and used the toilet. These little luxuries served to both comfort and scare you. You did not understand the thought process used to justify this set of behaviors but that was probably because you weren’t crazy. Maybe understanding was the worse option.

You tied the blindfold back in place and stood as you had been left. The computer printed message to put the blindfold back on once done was still taped to the mirror. There had to be others. Why else go to this trouble? Why not lock you in the bathroom or something? It only took a moment for the door to open once you put the blindfold back on. He was probably watching you the whole time with some set of hidden cameras. 

You made it back to your room and felt him run his hand down your back as he left. You hated it when he touched you and his hand kept getting closer and closer to your ass as time went. You were nearly positive he hadn’t been drugging you or taking advantage of you while you slept. That was a thought you always added a ‘yet’ to. 

Removing the blindfold you saw the tray of food and bottle of water that was left for you. Some meals had coffee or tea as well but you only always drank the water. It was sealed still with its tamper evident ring. You ate the food with scrutiny over any unusual taste warning to stop eating what might be sedatives. Piling the dishes and trays together, you were careful not to soil the blindfold. The stack was then placed by the slot in the door, where a gloved hand would slid them away into the world beyond. 

Something felt off this time. The slot lifted and the trays were taken with the slot closed again as normal. Something was wrong with you though. You were dizzy quite suddenly and your vision was softening in focus. This was very wrong. The door opened ever so slightly and you went still, trying to fight through the blur filling your head and assess what was happening. 

Shading started to frame your sight as the chemical you ingested took effect. You swayed with a jolt of adrenaline as your body concluded this was a dangerous siltation and you needed to get alert to deal with it. The fight in you only fluttered your heart though as some drug pulled you deeper under the surface.

You staggered slightly, the shadows around your vision creeping closer and closer. You could feel the movement of the door opening further and you had a moment of realization. If you saw the face of the person that took you, he could never let you leave. A part of you also wanted to keep from discovering if it was him. To see it wasn’t would be fine, but what if it was? You couldn’t deal with that. You grabbed the doorknob and threw your whole body weight back to try and keep the door shut.

“No, please no. I can’t… Don’t let me see you, please. Please, please, I don’t want to know.” You were getting dizzy. The food. There must have been something in the food. He wouldn’t trick you with that again. Gravity was suddenly too powerful to resist and you sank to the ground still holding the doorknob with all you had.

As the door opened out into the hall you slid along with it. Your heaped form was clinging to the door in a confused attempt to not be taken anywhere. The shadowed form standing over you was concerned over your frantic behavior. You ween’t supposed to ever be afraid of him. This was wrong but what other choice did he have? He wrapped the thick cloth blindfold over your scrunched shut eyes. The panic seemed to ease for a moment only to flare up again as you tried to stand and get away, without trying to remove the blindfold.

You sagged as the sedative pulled you deeper under the velvet curtain of darkness. Reality had gone to a blurred half space. You felt his strong arms encompass you before you hit the ground. “Levi, you… you promised. You promised to be good to me. Why…?” You tried to get out your disoriented question before darkness had swallowed you up. You sagged unconscious in his arms, out cold.

“Be good?” 

You couldn’t have known how lucky you were to be unable to see how much your question had upset the man that held you. Had you tried to see who it was that had you, the sharp contrast of how far he was from the person you once knew would have horrified you. 

“It’s obviously fate that wrongs you now, not me.”

 

 

 

You woke with your hands bound behind your back securing you to a support post. You struggled and pulled and a small pop of the duct tape tearing a bit made you remember the nightmare you had so many months ago. You felt the sharp sting of tears building in your eyes as the image of a broken and dead Levi returned in vivd detail to your sightless mind. The tape popped some more and you bit your tongue as a sob threatened to come out. What if he was right there, watching you struggle just to punish you if you got free?

“Help.” You voice was soft. You had been unconscious for a while and your battered throat was reluctant to do as you insisted.

“Levi? Are you here?” You hadn’t seen the person that held you prisoner but the nightmare had put a second horrifying thought in your head. What if Levi was down here after trying to save you? Was the dream a premonition? Were you just terrified and blindfolded so your breaking mind was searching through all the pieces of your past to try and make sense of the current situation? 

The realist part of your mind sprang into action at that thought and went to put facts in order, remove the fanciful fictions. You had been kidnapped. You had been missing long enough they had to be looking for you by now. You were being held by a possible stalker or some other madman. Reality was getting distorted by the isolation you were enduring. The dreams were just dreams. No giant skinless monsters were coming to eat you.

What if you had made him become a monster? Maybe something had really gone wrong in Levi’s head. He had been stressed and working non stop before the fight. Maybe that had pushed him over the edge. Maybe he panicked that you might leave him?

No. Not Levi. It wasn’t Levi, couldn’t be Levi. You needed it not to be Levi. Levi wouldn’t hurt you like this. It was someone else and they might be totally unknown to you. Maybe that drunkard that was watching you at the pier that one time. Maybe the creepy guy at work that offered to let you come over and watch the classic Dracula while he “fed rats to his snake.” You hadn’t been sure if that even really meant the obvious or if it was a creepy euphemism but it didn’t matter. He had gotten an all avenues ‘nope’ to that. 

“Hello? Anyone else down here? I need help. I… I don’t want to be alone in this. Please, anyone. Help me.” Your voice cracked as hysteria threatened to rampage through you. You needed to see. It was a sudden overpowering need. Out of nowhere you were only aware of the one thing: seeing was all that mattered. In your frenzy to get the thing off your face you bumped your head and bruised your wrists. The last of the tape gave way and you pulled the blindfold off your face in sheer panic. 

Sight restored you tried to calm down to be clear enough to think strategically. You loved thrillers and knew more than average about psychology. ‘Combining the minds need to organize with fight or flight behavior the overwhelming fear of potential life ending danger was obvious. The heavy cloth causing the blindness had been the biggest threat, leading to a sever panic attack. It was instinct kicking in, like knocking a spider off your arm before it can bite you.’ You started to center on your controlled breathing. Meditation training giving you a way to calm the sudden storm.

You immediately dreaded seeing the room you were in, however. It was nothing like your nightmare had been, at least. It was a small basement work shop. You were on the concert floor looking at a sort of foot high raised deck with a waist high railing and a work bench in the middle. The work bench was made of metal  and had shelves full of tools at the ends. You used the term tool loosely in this as the devices you saw there were not the normal assortment of yard equipment or handyman supplies. They were strange contraptions that looked like hedge clippers with serrated edges, drills soldered together, long spikes conjoined into bear traps, shelves full of various combines of rusting machinations. 

You stayed back from the deck as if it were boobytrapped, and maybe it was. Trying to stay clear headed you looked around the edges of the outer walls. If you found the ventilation for the space it might let you be heard by people outside. You could scream for help and maybe be heard. 

You got to a curtain that went from the ceiling to the floor and hesitated in pulling it aside. Every horror movie you had ever seen told you to leave the curtain alone. Just like the oddness of the deck leading to the stairs, the curtain felt out of place. Dangerous things were lurking in oddness, that was instinct. Unusual things were best left alone in movies, too. This was real life though, not a movie. There wasn’t going to be a monster behind the drape, maybe a view of a second exit though. Or maybe the cameras you were sure he was using to watch you. You pulled aside the curtain and wondered what you had expected, really. Everything to this point had been relatively scary but nothing over the top. Then you had to go and do something totally stupid.

It was so macabre that at first you filed it mentally under ‘just a sculpture’. It was just some art installation by a college student trying for obscure but hitting vulgar instead, still it was just art. It was a floral piece, like an anemone with a bloom on a steam growing out from a foundation of split open boards. You looked in at what the ’seed’ was to sprout the horrific flower and saw what looked to be a heart. That was when the the silence in your head got to be more alarming than your surroundings. You were looking at a real human heart.

The gruesome plant was around six feet tall at the tip of the highest point. Each petal was a severed limb, the arms adhered together and angled to simulate blooming. Of the over a dozen arms, each hand held a globe that looked to be made of clear resin. Inside each globe an eyeball was suspended, centered in a starburst of teeth. The stem of the creation looked to be splintered wood adorned with coiled entrails twisting around like vines. Beyond it the wall that served as its back drop was coated in deep red that was turning black, what you recognized as blood. The calm silence of your mind as you took in the gruesome space continued.

The understanding of what this place was settled into your head in a way that made you stall out for a moment. You had expected seeing something like this in real life would shock you or make you sick or at least upset you more. As it was you were perfectly calm. It was a peaceful sort of clarity that felt only a mild curiosity at the view that should have registered as horrific. You wondered if all the panic earlier had left you in shock and this wasn’t properly reregistering. Instead you saw the artistry to it and wondered at how the blood was still wet and the flesh not rotting. There was nearly no oder and that much blood would have surely had a significant stench. 

Maybe this was how a mouse felt while watching an eagle swoop down to kill it. ‘Wow. Look how lovely death is as it comes for me.’ More statues were to your left and right and your mind was trying to keep the volume of death needed to craft such things from being tallied. You could only marvel at the obscure artworks that even used animal parts for crafting out lifelike chimeras.  

A close one caught your eye with it’s realistic pose. The mostly lion combine looked like it was merely sleeping. The golden mane and front half with its tawny yellow fur was the stereotypical lion. The hind half was scaled like an alligator in a deep moss green. Expert skill had been used to add in accents of vibrant feathers to the perfectly seamless joints. The strange too long snake patterned tail and obscure combination of feathers and scales adorning it’s hind quarters made your heart stop in its unnatural beauty. A flicker of fear coursed through you as you thought you saw the chest move. Was it breathing? It couldn’t be breathing.

A hand tangled in your hair and a cloth smashed over your mouth and nose. You didn’t panic this time or even think to try and get away. The only thing you thought this time was ‘Really? Again with the getting knocked out by chemicals? I wonder if this is healthy for my brain?’ While the inky violet swallowed the last of your thoughts you briefly wondered if you would dream of the statues as being made into one or of crafting them for yourself. 

 

 

 

It was the scream echoing in the dark that woke you. You were sightless once more and it was starting to make you very upset having this cloth on your face. Your skin crawled around it like it was an infection. Only once you caught your tongue hard enough to draw blood in a failed attempt to remove the blindfold did you register the fact that the endless screaming was from someone else. That was when you heard rusty metal creak then crunch.

 

A wet pop. 

 

Then silence. 

 

You swallowed a sob as the silence stretched on. 

 

You felt dizzy and disoriented. A sound of something rumbling its throat as it came padding up to you, odd clacks of clawed feet coming closer, caught your ear. You were sure you were half dreaming at least when you heard the sound of a tail slithering on the ground. A snort on your face just before a giant cat like tongue licked up you cheek made impossible pictures jump to mind; the chimera construct had come to life, woken up.

It must be a tiger. Possibly another lion? A big ass dog with a rougher than normal tongue. The real animals had been around at some point to craft the works you had seen. It could not be the part snake part great cat chimera your mind animated because of the sounds. You were afraid and blindfolded and part asleep. That wasn’t real, monsters weren’t real. Monstrous men were real but not chimeras.

The thing chuffed again and a calming warmth started to lull you toward sleep. The corse tongue softly as it could, licked up your tears with a deep rumbling purr. Something was so familiar about the warm sleepy security the creature emitted. This was the warm blanket of safety that had protected you from nightmares before.

Had your mind made up the creature to cope with the fear, with what you had just heard? A giant cat that made you feel safe like when Levi was holding you would track with a reasonable fabrication for your mind to make. ‘This might well be the moment I lose my mind’ you worried. You let the rumbling purr distract you from any further thoughts and drifted off into the first peaceful sleep you’d had in over a week.


	15. Fleet Footed Deer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3... *Points at tags* Violence, death, horror, gore... Relevant tags people. Sorry for this. Fun fact: this is the third chapter I wrote and I didn't know if I was making Levi or Eren the kidnapper at the time. I liked how the empathy of the audience was so on par with Reader's experience that I kept it this way. If you think you know who is who, good job! But I didn't write this knowing so maybe you have it wrong...

Taking the blindfold from her unconscious face he marveled at her beauty. He hated covering her eyes, hated not seeing them. Would she look at him with the same benevolence if he let her see it was him that had her? No, he had forced this, taken her without her accord. She had said she didn’t want to see him. He had ruined any chance of her loving him openly. She might deny her love for him but he knew it was there. He would find a way to keep her love forever. He would trap her spark, catch the lightning in a bottle. 

He had found his Muse and it was helping him to craft the most perfect creations. Every dream he had was being made into reality. He had wanted to share this with her, show her how the world could look. She hadn’t been screaming when he found her looking on them. Had life just been kinder, kept that day from happening, he might have been able to create with her instead of from her.

The glint in his eye was icy, not that she could see it. His hair had gone wild, the lust in his gaze was not the kind normal people gave. This was more the look a starved wolf gave a wounded deer. He had her now. Soon he would complete her, preserve her fulfilled perfection. But first he had others to deal with. They had laughed at his love. They had thought he would end up alone, must have thought he would never be loved back by (F/N). It didn’t matter. She would be with him forever now, his and his alone.

 

**

 

When the door opened on its own Sasha was sure it was a trap. There was absolutely no reason the door should have just opened on its own. She had been trying the door every few hours since she had arrived and after what must have been days it had never even so much as rattled. Peeking around the door jam to try and suss out what opened the door. She felt a crawling on her skin. The feeling was like the one she would have as she thought the man that had snatched her was watching  her in her cell. He wouldn’t open the cell intentionally though would he? It was paranoia and maybe a bit of her survival skills alerting her faster than her mind could expound. She inventoried the cameras in the corners and knew if there was someone watching she was already caught, no way to evade all of them.

Exiting the tiny room she was surprised to see more doors like her own. She had been screaming and  banging around when ever she had the energy but never heard anyone else echoing her. Was she really the only one or was the soundproofing so good that no one had a chance of hearing them? She looked in the peephole of one of the other doors and almost fell on her ass from fright what she saw gave her. It was the girl that had been so nice to her on her first day as an intern, Petra. She was banging her fists on the wall, her mouth open as if she was screaming and yet no sound was reaching Sasha’s ears. 

Focusing hard Sasha realized there was a slight mechanical noise of some kind making the slap of her feet on the linoleum duller. A white noise machine maybe? Something like that might help mask the muffled sounds of screaming. But if there was effort in place to hide their presence then help was possibly very close by. Sasha pulled at Petra’s door but it was locked and wouldn’t budge. She tried every door, even the rooms that looked empty. If she really was in a position to escape but needed to hide, an empty room could work since it would be expected she’d be too scared to go into one of the rooms by choice. The doors wouldn’t budge though. She couldn’t even get them to rattle and alert the others to try and help the escape.

With one last look of regret to the unmoving doors she left them behind. “I’ll bring back help. I promise.” She hated to leave them but staying to try and break through the doors when the lunatic that kidnapped them could return any moment would just be stupid. She stepped onto the garish brownish-red carpet and felt herself retch. It squished with the inundation of the pad bellow. Her bare feet were awash in a blackish auburn that she had to not think about the origin of. There was an oder that her mind keep trying to name as well but she knew better than to let it. 

The carpet led down a hall to a door. Sasha walked passed a hall leading to her left and tried the door at the end of the hall straight ahead. No surprise, it wouldn’t budge. This time however she could hear screaming coming faintly from beyond. It was wordless and endless. The bastard might be down there, torturing someone else. Feeling a call of urgency to try and save someone that she might actually be able to reach Sasha tried the door once again to no avail. This other person was alive though, as were the others trapped behind their doors. She would get out, get help, and come back to save them. All of them. She just had to be brave and fast.

Sasha doubled back to the hall she had passed earlier. She ignored the building stench and didn’t let her mind follow the thought of what was keeping everything so wet. Shouldn’t blood clot and dry out? Rounding the first blind turn she had to slam her hands over her mouth to stifle her scream. There were bodies torn into pieces littering the hall from wall to wall. Some were even piled up on others. What made it worse was the obviously skilled butchering to the bodies. Sasha had helped out at her families hunting lodge off and on since she was tiny and she knew the look of polished knife work. 

With as much speed and as little attention as possible she started down the hall. Tripping on a body part sent her falling forward to hastily catch herself or get a face full of cadaver. Her hands kept her face clean but one had pushed through the hollowed out chest of one of the bodies beneath her. ‘So the knife work gets sloppy as he goes? Suggests he loses control as the hunt goes on. Heh, look at me getting all CSI with my hunting skills.’ 

The slight window into her adversary’s mind let her know he was calm and collected to start but that if she was able to put up a long enough fight she would maybe be able to get him too worked up to think strategically. This would give her and her calm huntress’ mind the advantage. 

Moving through the next twist of the winding hall had been worse as the stink she was trying to ignore suddenly had a source. These ones were older and the blood and other seeping liquids had started to get very pungent. The fact that it was on her feet was making her struggle with the taste of bile in her mouth. ‘Don’t throw up, don’t start. You start and you might miss him coming up behind you.’

Turning the corner Sasha squealed in delight only to clamp her hands over her mouth again and instantly lost her battle to keep from vomiting. The lingering vileness on her hands was now on her face and the smell being mashed into her nose was just too much. Once the involuntary spasms passed Sasha started forward once again toward the sight she was worried might have been a hallucination. Charging forward she stopped inches from the finish line. 

Stamping down her nerves she reached out and tried to undo the first lock on a door that looked to be leading out. Her hand found cool metal and the spark of hope bloomed when the door was in fact real. The first deadbolt clicked out of the way and frantic elation filled the brunette with adrenaline to try and get the rest of the locks undone and the door open.

“Huh, you were faster than I expected even though you fell. That stopping to vomit cost you though.”

Sasha went still, she clenched her hands into fists and got ready to turn and start swinging. She just had to lead him on a chase until she could turn the tide and the hunter would become the hunted. A sudden sharp pain in the small of her back was unexpected, though. It was only when her hand came back warm with fresh blood that the reality sank in. He had let her out. He had let her out to kill her as he had done with all the others. As two more sudden jolts of pain pierced her back she felt total defeat in the knowledge she was now going to litter the hall just like the others.

“If its any solace, you made it further than most. You actually tried opening the door. So many of them don’t bother trying. You were so close to free.” He reached over her slumping shoulder to put the deadbolt back in place.

Tears fell down her cheeks. “Why, why are you telling me this?” Her heart was breaking as she felt the tug of rapid blood loss trying to make her close her eyes for the last time.

“Because I love seeing your despair as I take everything from you. I think I’ll keep your eyes. They are so bright. Want me to wait until you die or can I start now?” His voice was monotone and unfeeling.

“Go… fuck… yourself…” Sasha used everything she had left to take a swing at him.

Catching the fist with ease she was slammed into the wall by his other hand, holding her head still with a grip on her throat. “Hm. I guess that means I can start now.” Releasing her fist he pulled out a clean knife. “Try not to flinch to much, I don’t want to rupture your eye, they aren’t so easy to work with then.”

Sasha tried to lift her fists for one last fight but thick velvety darkness swallowed her up before the blade touched the flesh just below the orbital of her eye. Death was merciful and spared her the sensation of his removing her eyes.

 

**

 

He had gotten distracted once again after he removed the best trophies this one had to offer. Once the eyes were safely carved free he kept cutting. He had slashed away most of the soft surface tissue bellow her ribs and disjointed one of her arms when it wouldn’t stay out of the way.

Picking up the eyes and the severed limb he left her propped against the wall and door. She had gotten so far it was only fair to let her stay there. He walked on, passing the others that had foolishly not tried the door. He looked down at the one that had failed just before this one. The red form was now so broken apart it didn’t even resemble a human anymore.

It would be obvious to an onlooker that this one had held a deeper connection than the rest. The swell of emotion hit him again and, despite years of controlling his rage, it now ripped through his control too easily. The flurry of slashes he delivered to the shredded form was broken up only by his pained words. 

“Why did you force me to do this?” Slash slash. “Why couldn’t you have stayed in you room?” Cut and rend. “You were so smart but that lackadaisical fool got closer to free than you!” Stabbing the blade down in vehemence it caught in bone and he had to stop. He was panting and there were tears trailing his cheeks. “You were my best friend. Why couldn’t you just be happy for me and (F/N)?”

Getting up and leaving the knife lodged in his fallen friend he retrieved his dropped eyes and arm to continued on to the kitchen. Tossing the left arm onto the pile of other left arms he dropped the eyes into a glass. Rinsing the globes under the faucet to clean off any lingering grime from dropping them. He dumped the water out and inspected his newest treasures. Satisfied they were in good condition he dumped them into a pitcher in the fridge that he kept next to the milk. It was the one he kept the eyes in. 

 

**

 

Looking at the litter of pins on the 3DMG map it was painfully obvious to him what the connection was. There was no reason anyone else would see the pattern. He could be wrong and just reading to much into it after all. If he was right though, if the knot of dread in his gut was any indication, the thread binding these disappearances together was the only other person he knew with a dark side like him. It was subtler at first, but looking at the whole list it was too much of a coincidence to ignore. The recent absences in the office were even more fuel to the fire. Maybe they had really just quit without notice but the timing was too suspicious. It had to be him. 

The darkness had taken over and now he had taken (F/N). Looking at his phone he considered calling the police and making an anonymous tip about hearing screams coming from the house. That might work but the darkness of his own heart made him want to go himself. That moment in the office when she had seen what he was, the violence he could engage in, (F/N) hadn’t been afraid. He would go, he would save her from the monster that took her. Then she would know how much he loved her. 

He had to leave now though. Every moment that passed was one longer she was at his mercy. It had been days since the police questioned him about the disappearance of her and the other missing members of his building. It had been too long to wait a second more. She wouldn’t suffer for even one more night, not if he was alive to stop it. Grabbing his coat he dashed out the door into the setting sun. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna be uploading this last bit relatively quickly. If you haven't figured it out, I actually had all of Part One finished when I started posting. I am keeping to my guns and making the next block a Part Two instead of one long multi-chapter. I had been staggering the chapters to try and get Part Two finished up, but I've been sidetracked by an Incubus!Levi story that will most likely get posted. Might see which one is finished first or just hold off on the other story for a Halloween thing regardless. Don't worry though, this ties up pretty well at the end, could even argue its a chapter short of a free standing story.


	16. The Inferno

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2... Sorry for what this does to the heart, bear with me here.

Stepping in the door he was shocked at the view before him. ‘Hell is nothing like this.’ The sight was in shades of red and brown on immaculate stainless steel. The back door had led into the kitchen and on the counters were bits of meat that the man’s mind tried not to label. He had no time to identify that one pile looked to be severed left arms while another was the right. 

The room was mostly neat and tidy contrasted only by the manner of the piles filling the counters and tables. How many missing weren’t reported? How long had this psychopath been dismantling people? Certain aspects of the order to the scene hinted it was not a new hobby being explored but a practiced system in place for some time. Could this really have been going on for months unnoticed? 

Pressing onward toward the heart of the house he had to take pause. Illegal remodeling must have occurred to make the layout the labyrinth it was now. The halls were long with serpentine twists making for blind corners at every end. Escape would not be easy. The slick red pools on the floor, and the fragments of people that were making them, told him that was intentional. 

Slowly he walked forward. The discipline of the kitchen was not present in the whole of the house. The deeper in he went the more chaotic the horror became. A stench was creeping closer as well. The odor was not an unfamiliar one, however. The scent of old death, once encountered, was not easily forgotten. 

Looking to the end of one of the corridors he saw the sets of locks barring exit through the front door. ‘This is nothing like when I was here before.’ What he saw against the door was heart breaking. For a second he could recognize what he quickly relabeled as it. It wasn’t (F/N). All that mattered was finding (F/N) and getting her out before she could be harmed. The rest would be dealt with after.

Having had the momentary identification of one of the ruins around him made the next two twists harder to witness. The losses that must have occurred to make this a reality was heart shattering. ‘This, this is what hell looks like. That bastard must have used dozens to do this. How many you sick fuck? How many innocent people did you do this to?’ 

Walking was difficult through the last twists that ended in two options for moving forward. Both paths were cleared of any parts but the carpeting left no doubt that had been because the bodies were moved to new resting places. To the right was a hall full of doors and to his left a staircase going down. He had a moment of hopefulness, praying he was mistaken. 

‘(F/N). Please don’t be here. Please just have run off and left your old life behind.’ This wasn’t the first time he had wished she was the sort to just go walkabout. Maybe she was. Maybe she would come back after a long unplanned holiday in the woods. Planning was one of her weaker points, after all. Well more like she actively didn’t plan. ‘Please just say I haven’t already passed you. Don’t be one of those things behind me. Anything but that.’ He had to stamp the fears down or risk losing his control. He had to be calm and find her, not blind with rage.

He paused taking a second to try and discern which way would be best to try. Most likely the ones being held were in the rooms behind closed doors. The stairs had a door but it was open. If (F/N) was here she would be behind one of those closed doors. Each door had a peephole to allow their captor a view of his trophies without them being able to see him. Turning right he went to inspect the doors. He half hoped he would find her behind one of the doors. Then he could save her. If she was here in one of these rooms, not one of the unidentifiable heaps littering the halls, everything could still get back to okay. Eventually. 

Checking door after door he was sick to find that he knew most of the people locked away in these rooms. As he reached the last room he felt such a mix of joy and misery at it’s emptiness he almost missed the hint of how close he was to finding her. The stench from so close by had nearly overpowered the scent of cinnamon and lavender that (F/N) seemed to always smell of. 

Heart hammering in his chest he threw open the door and searched the tiny closet for the woman he was there to retrieve. No sign of her was present aside from the lingering scent. He was decimated to be so close to her and yet not have her safely in his arms. There was no blood, no evidence of heavy cleaning. There was still lingering hope.

The sound of sliding deadbolts and rattling locks gave away the impending opening of the front door. The sounds if heard by this monster’s prey would certainly cause them to scurry away in fright if they had managed to get loose. The hope of escape through the front door was not a reasonable one after seeing this carnage. He wasn’t trying to escape, though. The fact that it would be opening onto an  ambush of volatile rage was possibly just the advantage needed to be the victor in a one on one fight. If not, he was ready to fight dirty. This bastard was the last thing between him and (F/N). He would save her and everything would finally be okay.

He just had to get the upper hand over her captor.

 

**

 

A crash of something large hitting the workbench in front of you pulled you from your exhausted stupor. Someone had thrown something down the stairwell that had hit the high box like table with such force you heard the metal anchor points protest. The sound of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs was causing a panic to build in you. Each thud made you once again recall the nightmare you’d had, a monster most certainly being the thing descending to your prison. 

The one coming down the steps emerged from the darkness, lights catching the all too wide eyes in the porcelain face of the man you had been hoping wasn’t really there. The white shirt he had on was immaculate as ever. The navy vest he wore was spotless and making his normally steel gray eyes look full of blue flame. It was him, no more room for doubt about it. He probably had you in his basement, most likely you were mere meters from your own doorstep. 

Levi didn’t look at you, his eyes were only for the thing he had no doubt tossed down the stairs. He was muttering something to the object. Not a person. You couldn’t handle the idea that it would be a person. You knew it was a pointless hope but you had been falling in love with this man and maybe there was a chance he wasn’t some crazed monster killing people, planning to kill you. 

“Answer me, you worthless shit! You aren’t doing yourself any favors by staying silent. I’ll get my answers from you. The filth up there is a joke compared to what I will do to you.” Levi was spitting the words at what was on the ground behind the workbench. He looked somewhere between enraptured by the prospect and horrified. You had never seen a smile like that before, on any face, let alone Levi’s. Was it a smile at all? The baring of his teeth resembled a snarl more than a grin but that was still wrong because there was real pleasure in his eyes. He found some hideous sort of satisfaction in whatever he was thinking of doing. 

“Now answer me you stupid fucking piece of a human shaped shit! I won’t ask again. Say something. What’s that? Don’t bother praying. God can’t help you here.” Levi’s hand grabbed up something from the hidden shelves of the work bench. A soft sort of mushing noise could be heard, followed by a sound of rusted metal against metal. The sound wasn’t unlike the slice of hedge clippers. Hedge clippers cutting into meat. “If you’re gonna pray, pray I kill you by accident. I intend to leave you alive, you stupid fucking bastard. The life you have after what I do to you will be worse than Hell. Trust me.”

You couldn’t take anymore, you had to stop him somehow. You were still bound to the support post and had no hope of budging it. The tape at your wrists was unyielding, new layers threatening to cut off circulation rather than give out. You only really had one option.

“Please Levi, you have to stop this. Please don’t be horrible. Stop.” Your voice was soft and raspy. How long had you been screaming? It felt like days since you drank anything and now your throat refused to cooperate. The sound you made was barely audible and yet Levi went statue still. His shocked face turned in your direction, seeming to only now register the space he was in. 

“(F/N)?” The question in his voice was astounding. Did he really expect you to stay silent and watch this horror movie play out before you? Did he think you should still be knocked out? Had he forgotten he removed your blindfold? As his gaze found you in the darkness, the maddened look in his eyes ebbed ever so slightly, until a gurgle pulled his attention back to the violence he was engaged in. He was divided between wanting to continue his savagery and going to you. Levi made a motion to stand, but that could only mean he would come closer to you.

“Stay away Levi, you monster! You have to stop this. I thought you were a good person! I thought you would only ever be good to me. But this, this is awful Levi. This is the worst thing anyone can do.” Heartbreak and fear were swirling into a storm in your stomach. Any second you might be ill, or burst into hysterical tears or, worst of all, both.

“Be good?” There was a pained calmness in Levi’s face. You had found a phrase to cut through the madness and drag him into the reality of his actions. 

“That’s right Levi. You need to be good right now, for me, please?” You had to stop this before he went totally off the rails. 

His brows furrowed and the blue twinkle of his eyes seemed to erupt into an inferno. What could only be psychotic rage was now calling the shots in the man you were at the total mercy of. And you were the one that had stoked the furnace. Well, fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: This is the first chapter I wrote when I started writing this. Definitely posting these last couple chapters quickly. More coming soon!


	17. Who Are You?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...1.

“Damnit (F/N) I wanted to be good for you! I have been trying so hard for you! Can’t you see how much I care for you?” He had his arms opened wide, displaying his presence as he roared his words. The dam had well and truly broken. “But then this worthless little shit had to come and try and take you away from me.” His voice was a manic sort of growl and the twisted grin he held on his face left you fearing for your safety. This far gone could he really be trusted not to hurt you? Who was he talking about? Someone had tried to take you from him? Was it someone that had come to rescue you?

“Why did you tie me up Levi? Why did you lock me away like this? You had to know it was wrong. You had to know it or you wouldn’t have tried to hide your identity from me.” You were pulling on all your strength to stay calm, keep your voice reasonable, try and pull Levi back to sanity.

“Me? You thought I fucking took you? No, oh shit no, sweetheart. I would never… I could never have you suffering like this. I wouldn’t be able to cage you like… Like SOME SHITTY MONGREL!” The last words were accentuated by the sound of him kicking something, someone. 

“Levi, stop, wait what are you doing then? You need to help me get free. We need to leave before-“

“Before he gets back? It’s too late, he came back. You won’t talk me out of it. He hurt you. He tried to steal you from me. He knew-“ A wet snap echoed in the room as something gave way under the pressure from Levi’s foot. “He fucking knew how much I need you and still he tried. He planned to defile you. I can’t let that go. He has to be punished, my lovely. You… I never wanted you seeing this side of me though… I can’t have you afraid of me.” A clear ambivalence could be heard in his struggling tones. He was truly concerned over your wellbeing but how to get that to translate into helping liberate you from the bonds keeping you trapped in this place was an altogether different thing. 

“But I am afraid Levi. Not of you, but you can’t let me stay like this right? I don’t want to be tied up anymore and you are right here but not releasing me. Please, if I really am so important to you, can’t you see you need to help free me?”

“Free you?” His hollow sounding words and suddenly empty, expressionless face held a level of confusion that made your heart hammer against your ribcage. The look in his eyes was so alien that instinct warned you he might have planned to just keep you himself. “I hadn’t really thought that far ahead. I have to deal with this filthy fucker first you see. It will make quite the mess and I can’t have it getting on you. Then I’ll need to clean up. You can’t imagine how dirty he is, this place is. I never would have ignored him for so long had I known the absolute squalor he was producing.” 

Levi leaned forward pulling up the person on the floor in front of him by the hair. Growling down at the face of the person he was almost spitting the words. “How many did you use to make that havoc up there, you worthless shit? Were you going to use my precious (F/N) for such debauched things? I should flay you alive for just thinking of touching her with your vile hands!” The empty expression and hollow roar of words didn’t match the emotion in his eyes.

He brought his knee to the head of the one that had taken you, then stomped down harshly, his heel making a wet crunching sound a few times. You were silently grateful that the person that had taken you was blocked from view as Levi vented his rage. It was going to be hard to separate the violence of your savior from the gore all around you if you really saw Levi dismantling a living person. Hearing him do it wasn’t going to be much better. You had to leave. If Levi really wasn’t the one that took you, he would have to be wiling to help you get away.

“Levi!” Your outcry held a hint of building panic. You could feel the hysteria pulling on you, trying to overwhelm your control. You swallowed it down and tried to emulate the calm, collected and reasonable person you needed Levi to come back to. “Levi, I need you to come here.” The tension in Levi’s shoulders ebbed but he was still focused on the form in front of him. “I need you. Please, stop letting him take you away from me and talk to me. Help me understand why I have to stay like this any longer. My hands hurt, Levi. I’m in pain and you could stop it.” You had to try to reach him, his rage had been getting under control, he could control it now, you knew it. The words turned his face to you, tugging on his need to protect you seemed to be working.

“I… Shit. Damnit sweetheart you’re right. What am I thinking leaving you here to have to hear this. As we leave I can just keep you eyes cover-“ As you heard him start to say you would once again be blinded the tears started before you could even find words to ask him not to. The threat of losing your vision again broke your resolve and the panic started swallowing you up again. Seeing the terror on your face, knowing it was his words that had done it, Levi jumped over the railing and wrapped you in his arms, his lithe fingers using something unseen to free your hands from the thick wrappings of tape. He started hushing you, gently kissing your forehead and cheeks.

“I’m sorry (F/N), I’m so sorry. I wont put anything over your eyes. But you need to close them when we go up. I don’t want you seeing what he did. I don’t want these things haunting your dreams.” Levi’s strong arms held you against him and you realized your legs were too stiff to lift you free of his hold. Weakened from your struggle up to this point you didn’t have the fortitude to escape him. Levi might never harm you, but you couldn’t help having alarm bells going off in your head that he was probably in bat-shit crazy town and this was no time to be at the whim of crazy. 

“We are leaving now. I’m taking you home. Your cats are there, too. I’ve been watching them since you went missing.” Levi took your arms trying to help you get your legs under you for the first time in what must have been days. You collapsed back to the floor, cramping legs unwilling to remember how to work. Levi gave a click of his tongue and scooped you into his arms, carrying you with ease.  “I want you to shut your eyes. Just bury your face in my shoulder and don’t look. Alright?” You manage a weak, shamed nod. You couldn’t even walk on your own, if not for Levi being here who knows how you’d have gotten away and yet still you were trying to find a way to escape his hold.

“Close your eyes (F/N). Please, keep them shut.” As Levi reached the top of the stairs you heard the wet squishing of his shoes on saturated carpet. A pungent smell was coming from your right but you pressed your face deeper into Levi’s neck. Instead you could smell the laundry detergent he used coming from his shirt collar, the soap he used, his cologne, all mixing together with the smell you had come to think of as Levi, as safety. But the sound of the terrain Levi was needing focus to navigate through was horrifying. There was a squelching sound as Levi had his footing slip. He was right to think you couldn’t walk through this without help. Clearing up a path would actually have been desirable even with his sure-footedness. Another sound of squashing something thick and wet still managed to crunch under Levi’s foot.

“Levi.” You managed to whisper through clenched teeth. “The sound of-“ 

“Shit.” Levi interrupted you, immediately understanding your issue. He started humming loudly. You knew the song, you were sure, but you couldn’t place it. Levi kept humming, trying to help muffle the sounds threatening to reach your ear with his cheek. Progress to the exit was slow so when he reached the end of the song he started over again. As he reached the front door, Levi needed to adjust his grip on you. Through his teeth, while using more force than it seemed should be needed to open a door, he sang. “Muscle to muscle and toe to toe. The fear has gripped me but here I go. My heart sinks as I jump up. Your hand grips hand as my eyes shut, And ahhh ahhh ahhh ah ah, ahhh ahhh ahhh ah ah.” You could almost remember the song, the words were so close. His voice and your focus on naming the song distracted from the awful sound of something being crushed by the force Levi used to open the door. After Levi stepped through the doorway what ever had been in the way forced the door back shut with a slam, making you jump. 

“It’s okay, pet. I have you, we’re going home. I’ll come back to deal with this. You don’t need to think about it any more.” Levi’s words were a warm whisper on your cheek. He slid you into the passenger side and buckled you in. He then tucked his long coat over you, being careful not to cover your face with any of the heavy fabric. He pulled your phone out of the pocket and fished a headset from somewhere. “Sorry, I made a playlist on it, since I was missing you. Your music made me feel like you weren’t so far away, like I would find you. And I did. I’ll always find you, my lovely.” Levi placed the phone in your hands, one earbud in with the other tucked behind your neck, as was your habit he found so endearing. 

You just started the music playing where he had left off. It was your music, that was the truth, but it was not a playlist you had made, just as he had said. You recognized some tracks as the soundtracks of movies, some songs form The Grey, a song by the Editors from a teen vampire movie you’d never seen but the tune made your heart swell. Other melodic songs you hadn’t listened to in years were on the list, as well as some recent acquisitions rounding it out. You listened silently, drifting to sleep with Bastille and Apoptygma Berzerk, Crywolf and The Cure. 

You arrived home and felt Levi’s strong arms take you up again, managing to keep you so hidden by his coat an onlooker might even mistake you for an arm full of laundry. You were sagging so loosely in his grip, your sore arms dangled free making Levi’s task even harder. “Easy there darling, I don’t want to drop you.” He whispered, willing you to hold a liftable shape a bit longer, lest you slip through his hold.

Levi walked you through the front rooms, back to his bedroom. You struggled to try and stay awake, to be able to communicate with Levi. You needed to persuade him not do anything too hasty. The police would be asking questions and you didn’t want to lose him to jail time just because of his possessive anger. For now the bastard that took you was alive and the beating could be written off as extreme emotional distress mixed with defending the life of another. You would make sure people understood that was what happened. Levi nestled you into his bed, blankets piled over you as he stood up to leave. You grabbed his arm, pulling on him with all you had, it was barely enough to get his attention.

“Don’t leave me.”

“I have to go my lovely, but I’ll be back. Here, you just listen to the music and sleep and I’ll be back before you know I’m gone. I just need to clean up the mess that idiot made before it ruins everything. I won’t let his actions stain you.” Levi took your phone and plugged it into the sound system in his bedroom. He adjusted the volume to a perfect level and tucked you in once more. “Please, just rest. We won’t be apart long, I promise you.”

With a kiss to the top of your head he still managed to eluded your hold, sleep pulling you under with vehemence. Just before you fell all the way under the tide of warm relief that being safe in Levi’s bed brought, you heard him skip to a song on the stereo. 

“~She may contain the urge to run away

But hold her down with soggy clothes and breezeblocks…~”

As Levi started through the door you could hear him humming once again. “Please don’t go, I’ll eat you whole. I love you so, I love you so, I love you-“ Levi sang, until the door closed, cutting him off.

Feeling totally secure you whispered an answer to a fear you were sure Levi was feeling. “I won’t go. Just, don’t eat me, whole or otherwise.” A contented smile curled on your lips at being safe and sound in his bed. You were truly free, the ordeal was finally over.

The warm fog of sleep was engulfing you, or maybe you were already fully asleep, but you could have sworn you heard Levi say something lovingly in your ear.

“Don’t be stupid. You are mine. I’ll do what I like with you.”


	18. Nine Days Earlier

“You left her crying in her room?! What kind of asshole are you?” Armin sounded incredulous. Levi knew it might have been a double edged sword but staying only risked his mood hurting her more.

“Shut it Male Krista, I am not here to discuss what to do, I am here to figure out what HAPPENED. Which of you idiots was she texting all day?” Levi tried desperately to keep up his composed mask.

“Not me and I doubt it was Eren. You know how he gets when he gets a message from (F/N). The whole office knows when they are planning to see a movie or something.” Armin was looking at Eren as he spoke, the brat was radiating rage.

“You don’t deserve her. You are absolute scum. She was crying!” Stupid little shit was really going to start something today?

“Eren!” Armin was obviously not on the same page as Eren. Stepping in and grabbing Eren by the collar, Levi was going to find out what happened with (F/N) no matter what it did to his pride. He had to not rise to Eren’s provocation, though.

“I don’t need to hear that from you, you worthless little shit. Was she texting you?” Levi was fighting to keep in control.

“Yeah, she was. Talking about what a *short* temper you have. How she wished you’d just leave her alone. How she didn’t know how to tell you she didn’t like you anymore. You’ve lost her, you just don’t see it yet.” Eren looked so smug in his contempt. It could not be true though, could it? He had to walk away before he did anything to make this worse. Levi felt he had to be good for her.

He felt the rage of losing (F/N) swelling in him like an inferno. If he did what he wanted to do to that idiot he really would lose her forever though. Even if what Eren said was true, the boy was not the one that saw her trying so hard for him. She had not been acting like she wanted to break up. She was distant, lost in her head maybe, but not hating him. She was’t totally lost to him, not yet. He would get back in control and fix this. He would go to their spot on the  beach and think this through.

 

 

Levi looked out down the shoreline and tried to figure out if what Eren had said was even partially true. He once again patted for his phone to see if he had any messages from her only to remember he still didn’t have it. 

“I’m letting my anger drive me again aren’t I Erwin? Shit, you think she will be able to forgive me? I know you could’ve, but maybe I was meant to only ever have you? Totally fucked that up too.” Levi spoke to the sand falling from between his fingers as the waves inched closer, waiting, as if Erwin was going to answer. 

This had been were they would go when they fought. When they needed to get away from each other one would always end up here on this beach. They would pace in the sand or sit and stare into the horizon. The other would eventually come and some sort of reconciliation would always occur. They would talk and the air would be cleared. Most often Levi would be apologizing for his temper yet again ruining everything. That was until their last fight. Erwin never came to the beach that day.

The silence now was a heavy one. Levi understood now why everything fell apart with Erwin. Instances like this were where he needed his soul’s twin, with his unmatched intellect, to figure out the issue. Levi still didn’t understand why it had all gone so horribly wrong today. He absently reached for his phone to ask her, once again.

Finally the feeling of how stupid it was to just stormed off without any way to reach her won out. He got up and headed for the car. It had only been little over an hour since he abandoned the idiots at the office. It might not have been long enough for her emotions to settle and she might still need some space. At the least he had to get his phone though. She might find it easier to write down then proof read the words to make her feelings clearer. He shouldn’t have left without a way for her to reach him.

 

 

The echo of silence in the car as he drove was startling in it’s weight. Only as he let the realization of how little time he spent without her filling his space with sound or the promise of sound did he feel the fear of really losing her. Was he being hasty coming back already? 

Parking in the driveway Levi grappled with his ambivalence until a flutter of paper caught his eye. A paper was attached to his post box. Levi slowly climbed from his car feeling the dread of looking to see what it said. Had Eren been telling the truth and this was a Dear John Letter stuffed in his box?

 

_Hey Levi,_

_I was a total asshole. All of today was my fault, but I swear I didn’t do it on purpose! Please come back over to talk? I’ve gone out to get something so if I’m not back yet just knock. I told Rico to let you in for me. I’ll be home soon._

_Just wait a bit for me._

_(F/N)_

“Tch, as if I wouldn’t wait for you. Goof.” Levi had the fear that was constricting around his heart start to ease. Levi walked over and knocked on the side door first, unsure of how long the errand might take. When no answer came, after verifying that the door was locked, Levi went to knock on the front. There was also no answer. Levi sighed in annoyance and went to sit on his own porch where he could watch for (F/N)’s arrival without risk of missing her.

 

 

An hour passed and no one was home still. The note had made it sound like she didn’t expect to out this long. Maybe she hadn’t realized he had lost his phone? Levi searched his car then his house. No sign of his phone. Where had he had it last? Did it still have enough of a charge, maybe he could track it on his computer?

“Charge! Shit, I’m an idiot. It’s plugged in, charging in our bed!” Levi slapped his palm to his forehead with the epiphany. Levi’s joy in remembering was short lived. Being locked out of the house made it clear that his phone was still out of reach. Levi pulled his keys from his pocket and wondered what the better course of action was. 

His phone and only way of getting ahold of her was right there and she was obviously not home. No other means to get let in meant Levi had only the option of letting himself in or waiting until someone got back. Stuffing his keys back in his pocket Levi felt the risk was still too great. Watching as the sun hit the horizon, he would wait until one of the legal residents got back.

 

 

The sun had set over an hour ago and the houses sat with dark empty windows. Levi had taken to pacing on his lightless porch, not risking entering long enough to turn on the light lest he miss her return. This was too long. She should have been back by now for sure. What if she was stranded, calling him to come get her? He needed to get his phone. 

Pulling his keys from his pocket Levi went over to the side door and let himself in, disarming the bolt with his own key. 

Entering the main living space Levi halted when he saw his phone on the table. He picked it up and automatically checked for messages. 37 missed messages all from (F/N)? What the hell? Levi unlocked his phone and looked at the last one to see if it was an explanation of her prolonged absence.

-What is even wrong? Why aren’t you answering me?-

Shit, she hadn’t realized he didn’t have his phone. That message was from right around when he had blown up at her. Scrolling to the first to see if he couldn’t piece together some explanation of where she had gone he read all the messages.

-How can I be so lucky to wake up next to someone so handsome? Even sleep tussled you look good. It has to be cheating at life somehow-

And they continued in that vain. Sweet doting notes giving him a window into her inner thoughts. She had said she was the asshole, that it was her fault they had fought but it was obvious now it wasn’t. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. He had gotten mad over nothing and taken it out on her. She was just being his angel, she hadn’t earned the reaction he gave her. 

-Babe, where the hell are you?-

He sent the message without even taking in the rest of the table until a soothing tone vibrated the table. Her phone was sitting there, under a folded paper. 

_Hi Levi,_

_I guess Rico had to let you in. I bet you see what happened now don’t you? I was only texting you. I made a short little playlist for you to listen to while I am out. (It’s a surprise so no peaking once I get home.)_

_The passcode is 5221. Before you get all weird that was my code before we met. Still not very sneaky though I guess._

_The Playlist is named “We Will Be Fine”. It’s a bit short but I won’t be gone long._

_See you soon,_

_(F/N)_

Levi unlocked the phone and saw that there was a missed text from Rico saying she wouldn’t be home until late. Levi hated waiting but maybe it was just taking that long? Planning was never (F/N)’s strongest skillset. He pulled up the playlist and started listening.

“~I’ve got an aching head, echoes and buzzing noises. I know the words we said, but wish I could've turned our voices down. This is not black and white, only organized confusion. I'm just trying to get it right, and in spite of all I should've done…

I was not mad at you, I was not trying to tear you down. The words that I could've used, I was too scared to say out loud. If I cannot break your fall, I'll pick you up right off the ground. If you felt invisible, I won't let you feel that now.~”

Levi’s heart swelled as he kept listening. She was still his. He hadn’t lost her. Without wanting to be too breaching of her privacy Levi looked to see when the last time was she even texted Eren. The little shit had lied, she hadn’t texted him in days. Levi was comforted by Eren’s not knowing what the hell he was talking about for only a moment. Where was she now? If not out with anyone then what was taking so long? It must have been hours longer than she had intended. He didn’t know where she went but he had to try and find her. 

 

 

Getting in his car Levi set her music to play through the speakers. The sound of her speaking to him through the songs kept the tumultuousness of her absence from swallowing him whole.

When he saw the flicker of blue and red lights, Levi felt total panic override any logic. He parked hastily and ran over to the officers that were taking notes and searching for clues. Levi saw a giant among the sea of officers. 

“Oi! Mike, what the fuck happened? Did someone get hurt?” Levi’s heart was hammering so loud in his ears he could hardly make out what anyone was saying. ‘Not my (F/N), please not her.’ The tall man made it through the bustling people to the new arrival to the scene.

“Fuck Levi! You’re already here? I only just gave them your number. I don’t know if I should… Fuck it. Levi, that girl you come in with on Wednesdays, someone grabbed her. I was too far away to stop it. I’m so sorry.” Mike was holding Levi’s shoulders as he spoke. By the end he was the only thing holding the shorter man up.

“No, no no no. Not (F/N). She… we are getting dinner tonight.” Levi buried his face into Mike, drowning in the crushing weight of loss, of losing someone so precious, once again. Mike wrapped his arms around Levi, gleaning what the woman meant to the smaller of them by his reaction. 

“Here Levi, this guy is Detective Nile Dok. He is the one on the case. He should talk to you, since you can tell him about her. Lee, are you hearing me?”

“Who’s gonna watch her cats while she is gone? No… I… It’s obvious I will. They can stay with me. We will wait for her together.” Levi had lost all focus on the surroundings. It was obvious his mind had left for somewhere far and away.

“Lee? Look, I’m gonna take you home. We are going to tell the nice Detective your name and relationship to the missing woman. You are going to give them her name and we are going to get you some tea because I think you are in shock.” Mike was speaking as if Levi was a child that had just fallen but hadn’t started crying yet. If he did not act upset maybe the child would stay calm. “Hey Detective, this is the friend of the woman I gave you a number for.”

The detective looked like a stereotype from a Private Investigator Movie. He had on a brown trench coat over a classic white button up shirt and brown slacks. A gun holstered on leather suspenders was flashed as he walked over. He stank of smoke and stress and the scruffy state of his hair and goatee only made him look more like the scrapings from the bottom of an ashtray. 

“We can’t afford to jump to any conclusions on the identity of the person taken. Do you have reason to suspect that this was your friend?”

“(F/N) was only planning to be gone a short time. It has been hours. She is definitely missing and her name is (Y/N). She isn’t my friend, she is my fucking girlfriend, and she IS fucking missing!” Levi lunged to grab the lapels of the cigarette soaked coat but Mike twirled Levi around and bear hugged him to his broad chest. Assaulting an officer would not get her found any faster. He had to keep calm, but how? His girl was taken. How could anything be okay until she was home again?

Levi could hear Mike talking over him to Dok, including confirming his address and number again. Thank fuck for that overgrown shaggy tree of a man. Levi had heard about the abductions on the news but this was the first he had heard of a witness coming forward so early. The trail was fresh, and they would find her. Mike had set them on task and she would be home again soon. Levi had to just believe that. 

 

 

Levi looked over his cup of tea and wondered if there was an appropriate thank you gift for this. What did one get for a fuck buddy that not only didn’t complain about making his shellshocked lover tea or being forced to collect cats into carriers without aid but also just held him as he failed to sleep? Mike did all of that while constantly reiterating how she would be found soon. They probably didn’t make gift baskets for that, maybe a hallmark card?

Levi reached to the nightstand and unlocked her phone. Looking through the music Levi started making inventory of her library. He laid there for hours sifting through the music. He paused his search only a moment to call off from work that day. Even after Mike woke and made them breakfast, Levi kept looking through the music. Mike had even commented on how she had great taste in music, after Levi played a bit of it for him. 

“I have to go Lee. I am going to call you later, maybe we should do dinner? I’m worried you aren’t gonna eat without someone reminding you. Plus that detective should be contacting you. You hearing me?”

“Yeah yeah, I’m gonna tell them everything I can think of. I’ll have to introduce you once she is home. You’ll like her.”

Mike smiled softly at the all too fragile hope he heard in his friend’s voice. “I’d really love that. Make sure to mention I was in her place to get the cats? I really don’t feel like getting arrested for my trouble. Probably should have gotten permission before just doing that.”

“Tch, they had to get over here somehow. Can’t have them starving just because the police might want to check her flat for nonexistent clues.” Levi scoffed softly at that. The kidnapping was random and just an act of opportunity like all the others. Wasn’t it?

Mike waved off and left, convinced more than ever he needed to check on Levi regularly to be sure he was taking care of himself. Once the distraction of company was gone Levi felt the itch of a thought he didn’t like. What if it wasn’t random? Levi looked up the other know missing and did not recognized any of them, just random men and women, not even from his area. She must have been random as well. 

So why could he not get his head and heart to agree on just waiting until the authorities found her? He looked at her phone and felt the inspired spark of a playlist. The playlist he would make for her, that she would play once she was home. 

Once he had found her.

 

 

 

 

Playlist name:

I’ll Always Find You

Playlist notes:

If your phone gets back to you without me, know I’ll never give up on you.

Songs added:

Artist:                                  Song:

Syml                                    Where’s My Love

Jaymes Young                      Don’t You Know

Chris Isaak                           Wicked Game

Backandtotheleft                  Maybe Today

Woodkid                               I Love You

Crywolf                                 Ribcage (Acoustic Version)

Marshmello                           Alone

The Unlikely Candidates        Your Love Could Start a War

Bad Religion                         Give You Nothing

Konami Kukeiha Club            You’re not Here

Apoptygma Berzerk              Kathy’s song

Razed in Black                      Blush

Imperative Reaction              Drown

Bruderschaft                         Forever (Darkness Pulls Me Under Remix by State Of The Union)

Seabound                             Hooked

Blink-182                             I Miss You

Mumford & Sons                   Cold Arms

Halsey                                  Ghost

Marc Streitenfeld                  Into the Fray

In Love With a Ghost            Flowers (feat. Nori)

Syml                                    Mr. Sandman

Bastille                                The Draw

Editors                                No Sound But the Wind

The Cure                             All I Want

Mumford & Sons                 Broad-Shouldered Beasts

Of Monsters and Men          Silhouettes

Apoptygma Berzerk            Pikachu™

Calvin Harris                       I Need Your Love (feat. Ellie Goulding)

Alex Clare                          You’ll Be Fine

Ed Sheeran                         One

BT                                      Dreaming

Raj Ramayya                      Strangers

alt-J                                  Breezeblocks

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the love and for reading!! 
> 
> Your kudos and comments mean the world to me. 
> 
> Be seeing you!


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